Standardized Testing Argumentative Essay

High stake tests have turned many classrooms into stressful environments rather than offering rich, engaging, and well-rounded surroundings. The debate over standardized testing in public schools has become more controversial on whether or not it is negatively impacting students and educators in America. Every year teachers are forced to give their students test after test on information that they are expected to know, because of these exams students are becoming less successful in the classroom. Standardized testing has shown that testing does not lead to learning, school districts are held at high standards, and they offer an incomplete picture for students. Standardized testing in many cases has shown that testing does not lead to learning. Presidents since Lyndon Johnson have applied education packages that included standardized tests and claimed future success for creating better schools for children, but researchers have found little evidence exists that children’s learning has improved because of their test. Researchers Amrein and Berliner stated that if students showed an increase on state tests then they should have shown an increase in learning on ther independent measures as well. After conducting an experiment Amrein and Berliner found that high stake tests …show more content…
David Berliner; an activist for The No Child Left Behind Act states “these high-stake tests encourage underhanded manipulation of students and test data. In addition, more time is now being spent on test preparation than on authentic teaching and learning’ (Berliner). As a result, teachers and administrators feel enormous pressure to ensure that test scores constantly rise. Schools manipulate curriculum to match the test, while teachers only cover what might be on the test. The pressure is so high that a number of administrators and teachers have engaged in various kinds of cheating to boost