Standardized tests have been apart of the American education system since the mid-1800s. However, in the last decade these tests have rocketed as the “No Child Left Behind” act was put into action in all 50 states. US students began to slip from being ranked 18th in the world for math, to 27th. Research shows that high-stakes standardized test scores are not valid or reliable.
I think that the requirement of standardized tests is not achieving anything but stress and lost confidence in students. Standardized tests takes away focus from the ultimate goal, student success. Also these tests create disadvantages for students who do not have access to the knowledge needed in order to complete these test questions
In fact, standardized tests are biased by social-class, ethnic and other cultural differences. They unfairly advantage those who can afford to prep for the test. Kids who are suffering from poverty do not get the same tools and resources in order to prepare for these tests as kids who are able to access these resources do. As a student from Bowie, I am fortunate enough to have tools available to me in order to succeed on these tests. However, kids that go to other schools do not have the same teachers and atmosphere that would allow them to strive in there academics. Therefore, requiring kids from all over to take the same tests does not accurately show students to the best of their abilities.
These tests create unnecessary stress and negative attitudes towards school. They do not allow students or teachers to show creativity, and lead students to the “gaming” strategies that improve the success-rate of guessing. With these standardized test creating fatigue, students begin to rely on guessing in order to just complete the test. Therefore, if students are not taking these tests to the best of their ability, how will they be accurately graded. According to the National Academy of Sciences report to Congress, standardized tests don’t increase student achievement.
Statistics show that the average student in America’s big-city public schools takes some 112 mandatory tests between pre-kindergarten and the end of 12th grade. That is an average of about 8 tests per year, the study says. This eats up 20 -25 hours every school year. This means that rather than students preparing for future success or other necessary lessons needed in order to prepare for the next grade level, they are focused on just trying to pass a computerized graded test.
However, some people may argue that these standardized tests are a practical and accurate way of evaluating what a student does or does not know. Although these tests do show what category of the tests students either struggle or excel at, I believe they still are not accurate way to determine student success. Some students struggle with taking tests, while others do very good. This does not mean one student is smarter than the other. Overall, these tests cannot accurately measure how well a student is doing in a particular subject.
Most likely standardized tests are always going to be apart of the school’s system. However, a step in the right direction could be to minimize how many tests students are required to take throughout their education. This way students would still have to prepare for a test over concepts they’ve learned throughout the year, but it would be less stressful and easier to take on.
Overall, standardized testing is not contributing to the success rates of students. Instead, it is creating problems such as lost confidence and bad habits such as guessing. By minimizing the amount of standardized tests, students stress levels would decrease and they would be more confident to take these tests.
