Standardized Testing Summary And Analysis

In a classroom half-filled with students, sitting in every other row, only the sound of pencils scratching paper permeates the air. No talking or laughter here. At the head of the classroom, the children’s teacher sits at her desk watching her students. Some of the students look worried, stressed; others look relaxed. At times there were little circles to be darkened, or lined, blank paper to be filled. The seconds on the clock tick by, timing the students for each section’s completion. Across the country, in hundreds of classrooms similar to this, the days of standardized testing have arrived. On the surface, standardized testing appears to assist in the educational value of students in public school systems throughout the United States. …show more content…
Two types of scoring frequently found on these tests include norm-referenced tests and criterion-referenced tests. Philip Harris, Bruce Smith, and Joan Harris, retired educators of various school levels in Indiana, define norm-referenced tests, or, in a way, ranking tests, as tests that give students a percentile based off of others taking the same test at that time. Criterion-referenced tests score students, usually on a scale, based on how many questions they answer correctly (Harris, et al). According to Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, an Associate Professor at Arizona State University, the standardized tests created for the NCLB typically incorporate both norm-referenced and criterion-referenced test scorings. Both scorings could help a student and his school to see how he ranks against other students who took the test and how he did on the test in general …show more content…
At the same time as poor results from the tests can lead to negative consequences, proficient results can lead to more positive outcomes. For students, passing the standardized tests can mean moving up to the next grade level and getting a high school diploma when they reach the end of their schooling (Harris, et al, Amrein-Beardsley). Earning scores below the proficient level can mean being held back a year or being placed into mandatory tutoring to help raise test scores (Harris, et al, Amrein-Beardsley). For teachers and administrators, passing the standardized tests can mean a pay raise or bonus (Harris, et al, Amrein-Beardsley). If their students do poorly, the teachers and administrators may be replaced or fired (Harris, et al, Amrein-Beardsley). All of these changes, for the better and the worse, are balanced upon proficiency in standardized tests. To help boost scores, teachers and administrators turn to various