Standardized Testing: The Problem and the Solution
Standardized testing is the cornerstone of the American education system. Standardized testing has been an important part of our education system for many years, for a variety of reasons. Accountability is the main reason standardized testing is prevalent in today’s education system. Standardized testing is easy to score and quickly makes sure that schools are teaching the material. Standardized testing was implemented nationwide due to the No Child Left behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. This brought more standardized testing to hopefully raise the proficiency of students in both reading and math. It created testing in grades third through eighth grade and one test per subject in high school (Klein). …show more content…
The consequence can be emotional or mental, long-run, or biases that ensure they will not succeed in a standardized testing platform. When testing children often have feelings of fear and hopelessness, as well as feeling uncomfortable (Landry). Children as young as third grade are feeling hopeless while taking standardized test. Another emotional state caused by testing is low motivation. This can lead to high dropout rates, as grade retention is based on standardized testing scores. This can discourage students as they are retained when they achieve low scores (“The Effects of High-Stakes Testing on Student Motivation and Learning”). Teachers also tend to teach a narrowed curriculum teaching on test preparation (“Asinine Assessment”). Children need to be well rounded, and only teaching them the material on their test or preparing them for the test does not achieve this goal. Students should be introduced to the arts and sports, as well as crafts and technical trades. Every child is different and we need to provide them the education they need to flourish as individuals. These tests are not only affecting student morale, they are affecting the material being taught. If a car keeps breaking down and needs repairs a person would buy a new one or fix the damaged car. If standardized tests are not benefiting students we need to …show more content…
Some of the changes that could be applied is sampling, which is only testing random selections of students, based on a multitude of factors. This leads to diverse data and less testing for students (“NAEP Assessment Sample Design”). This is how the NAEP or National Assessment of Educational Progress is conducted. This test is how schools are compared nationwide and the tests is highly revered and accredited. With sampling, teachers can focus more on student learning than teaching for the test Sampling also ensures that all students are taught equally. Making standardized testing sample based is an easy way to test students and hold schools accountable without devoting all time towards teaching for the test. Changing the amount of standardized testing would also be beneficial. The amount of standardized tests could be limited, such as one every couple of years or at the start and end of high school. The tests could be shortened in length. Creating a one or two hour test instead of a four hour or more test would create more time for teaching other subjects and limit student stress. Tests could also focus more on problem solving than rote memorization. This could include more essay responses or problems that require thinking. Lastly, ELL students could be tested differently or proficiency level based tests could be implemented with easier English usage. ELL students should be
Standardized testing is the cornerstone of the American education system. Standardized testing has been an important part of our education system for many years, for a variety of reasons. Accountability is the main reason standardized testing is prevalent in today’s education system. Standardized testing is easy to score and quickly makes sure that schools are teaching the material. Standardized testing was implemented nationwide due to the No Child Left behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. This brought more standardized testing to hopefully raise the proficiency of students in both reading and math. It created testing in grades third through eighth grade and one test per subject in high school (Klein). …show more content…
The consequence can be emotional or mental, long-run, or biases that ensure they will not succeed in a standardized testing platform. When testing children often have feelings of fear and hopelessness, as well as feeling uncomfortable (Landry). Children as young as third grade are feeling hopeless while taking standardized test. Another emotional state caused by testing is low motivation. This can lead to high dropout rates, as grade retention is based on standardized testing scores. This can discourage students as they are retained when they achieve low scores (“The Effects of High-Stakes Testing on Student Motivation and Learning”). Teachers also tend to teach a narrowed curriculum teaching on test preparation (“Asinine Assessment”). Children need to be well rounded, and only teaching them the material on their test or preparing them for the test does not achieve this goal. Students should be introduced to the arts and sports, as well as crafts and technical trades. Every child is different and we need to provide them the education they need to flourish as individuals. These tests are not only affecting student morale, they are affecting the material being taught. If a car keeps breaking down and needs repairs a person would buy a new one or fix the damaged car. If standardized tests are not benefiting students we need to …show more content…
Some of the changes that could be applied is sampling, which is only testing random selections of students, based on a multitude of factors. This leads to diverse data and less testing for students (“NAEP Assessment Sample Design”). This is how the NAEP or National Assessment of Educational Progress is conducted. This test is how schools are compared nationwide and the tests is highly revered and accredited. With sampling, teachers can focus more on student learning than teaching for the test Sampling also ensures that all students are taught equally. Making standardized testing sample based is an easy way to test students and hold schools accountable without devoting all time towards teaching for the test. Changing the amount of standardized testing would also be beneficial. The amount of standardized tests could be limited, such as one every couple of years or at the start and end of high school. The tests could be shortened in length. Creating a one or two hour test instead of a four hour or more test would create more time for teaching other subjects and limit student stress. Tests could also focus more on problem solving than rote memorization. This could include more essay responses or problems that require thinking. Lastly, ELL students could be tested differently or proficiency level based tests could be implemented with easier English usage. ELL students should be