More Than a Test Score How standardized are standardized tests? When a test is standardized, this means that a particular group of students will take the same test that will be fully scored and analyzed all the same way. The score that each student receive will then be compared to other students that have taken the same test. In most schools in the United States, we force students to take these test in order to ultimately evaluate a student’s intellectual level in a certain subject. They not only provide schools, districts, and states with information about a student's improvement and achievement, the tests can also determine whether a child is fully prepared to move on to the next grade level.The United States Department of government strive
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We live in a country that is home to a variety of people of different races with different ethnic backgrounds. According to St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, “State achievement tests are required by the No Child Left Behind Act, and each state must administer an assessment in basic subjects…” (1). These tests were designed to focus solely on a child’s knowledge not considering their background. The students that take these tests are raised from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds, different levels of capability in the English language, and have an overall different way of thinking and learning. For instance, some student may be unfamiliar with words, terms, and concepts used in the tests. Despite this, the test treat them as though they are all identical. Joseph Soares, a sociology professor at Wake Forest University, states, “...tests like the ACTs and SATs put low-income and minority students at a significant disadvantage”(1). High school grade point averages would also give admissions counselors a better grasp of a student’s abilities without the gender and racial biases that test score carry. For example, tests like the ACT and the SAT require students to pay a rather large fee in order to take the tests. These fees, in some cases, have caused students to turn away from taking them because they may feel as though it was a waste of their money. Some families may not be able to afford for their children to take …show more content…
There are many good things that come out of taking these kinds of tests. As students get older, mainly in high school, they are required to take these test in very strict conditions, this could help prepare the students for conditions in college and higher education. According to Amy Witherbee and Denise B. Geier, “Standardized tests are important, not for the testing, but for the standards. They are, in essence, a benchmark that when properly done, set out for students, teachers, parents, and a nation, goals for the next generation” (3). Although these test could be very demanding on students and cause unnecessary stress, they are a reliable way for students, teachers, and parents to view where a student stands in comparison to the other students in the same area. When parents receive the results for their children, they are able to utilize the results to show where their child needs to improve and where they excel. They also give the government information of the current education system, how well it is working and the areas that they need to improve on, allowing the overall education system of that area of
We live in a country that is home to a variety of people of different races with different ethnic backgrounds. According to St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, “State achievement tests are required by the No Child Left Behind Act, and each state must administer an assessment in basic subjects…” (1). These tests were designed to focus solely on a child’s knowledge not considering their background. The students that take these tests are raised from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds, different levels of capability in the English language, and have an overall different way of thinking and learning. For instance, some student may be unfamiliar with words, terms, and concepts used in the tests. Despite this, the test treat them as though they are all identical. Joseph Soares, a sociology professor at Wake Forest University, states, “...tests like the ACTs and SATs put low-income and minority students at a significant disadvantage”(1). High school grade point averages would also give admissions counselors a better grasp of a student’s abilities without the gender and racial biases that test score carry. For example, tests like the ACT and the SAT require students to pay a rather large fee in order to take the tests. These fees, in some cases, have caused students to turn away from taking them because they may feel as though it was a waste of their money. Some families may not be able to afford for their children to take …show more content…
There are many good things that come out of taking these kinds of tests. As students get older, mainly in high school, they are required to take these test in very strict conditions, this could help prepare the students for conditions in college and higher education. According to Amy Witherbee and Denise B. Geier, “Standardized tests are important, not for the testing, but for the standards. They are, in essence, a benchmark that when properly done, set out for students, teachers, parents, and a nation, goals for the next generation” (3). Although these test could be very demanding on students and cause unnecessary stress, they are a reliable way for students, teachers, and parents to view where a student stands in comparison to the other students in the same area. When parents receive the results for their children, they are able to utilize the results to show where their child needs to improve and where they excel. They also give the government information of the current education system, how well it is working and the areas that they need to improve on, allowing the overall education system of that area of