...Should public schools continue standardized testing? The United States government implemented the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA), signed into law on January 8, 2002 by President George W. Bush (US Government Printing Office, 2002). This Act requires states to develop assessments in basic skills. In order to receive federal school funding, states must give these assessments to all students at select grade levels. The Act does not assert a national achievement standard. Each state develops its own standards (US Government Printing Office, 2002). Since the creation of this act, various debates challenge the practical use of the standardized tests. The debate presented for this paper is an argument, “Should public schools continue standardized testing?” The favorable arguments are that the standardized tests are fair, backed by parents, improves the quality of the curriculum, and the usage of standardized tests outside of the public education system. The arguments against standardized testing are stereotyping poor performing students, testing anxiety, low morale with teachers, and basing teacher evaluations on student performance. Additionally, ethical, moral and legal issues are identified in relation to standardized testing and their effects on high-stakes testing. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the given arguments, both for and against standardized testing from different sources and to conclude with a consensus of the arguments with the authors of this paper...
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...Standardized Testing: An Ineffective Way to Measure Students’ Intelligence High-stakes testing turns many classrooms and schools into prep centers rather than offering rich, engaging, well-rounded instruction. Rote and narrow instruction bores and alienates students, making them tune out and feel they are little more than their scores (FairTest, 2004). High schools exit exams (FairTest, 2008) push many thousands of students out of school. As a result of these factors, urban graduation rates have decreased. Some students see no realistic option other than dropping out; some are deliberately pushed out or fail the tests. Either way, these young people are much more likely to end up in trouble or in prison. ("How Testing Feeds the School-to-Prison Pipeline") According to Peter D. Hart, a research associate for the Association of American Colleges and Universities, standardized tests unfairly measure students’ intelligence and academic performance. Therefore, the tests must be changed drastically or abandoned completely. Educators and parents have vocalized their view on the rising number of standardized tests the government has implemented in efforts to improve education in American schools. In light of the No Child Left Behind legislation under President George W. Bush, the government administers more and more tests to children, predominantly in lower grade levels ("Standardized Testing"). Along with No Child Left Behind, opponents have shown their disapproval of these...
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...The goal of standardized testing is to evaluate student ability with a uniform, non-biased instrument. They have “been shown to predict students’ future educational attainment and adult employment and income” (Trafton, 2013, para. 2). First used in Imperial China for determining suitable employees for the government of the ruling class (Do standardized tests show an accurate view of students’ abilities, 2012), the standardized test as we know it now is a result of an open letter to the public by the U.S. Department of Education entitled, “A Nation At Risk: The Imperative For Educational Reform”, that was released in 1983 (Jolley, 2014). The SAT, an aptitude test typically taken by high school juniors and seniors, was started in 1926 and has been modified multiple times to eradicate any evidence of bias and contain no references to content outside the classroom (Bauerlein, 2015). The demand for removing bias has led to one of the reasons for opposition to standardized testing; teaching to the test. Educators feel stripped of autonomy (Jolley, 2014), and that this type of curriculum does not encourage critical thinking skills. Supporters of standardized testing, however, believe that they hold teachers and schools accountable to taxpayers by being able to measure student achievement and be judged according to student performance (Do standardized tests show an accurate view of students' abilities, 2012). The goal of this study is not make an argument for or against, only to demonstrate...
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...For • Practicality-This is probably by far, the biggest argument in favor of standardized tests. Aspects include: o Standardized tests are less time-consuming than more complicated assessments that need personal time with every student. o Standardized tests are easier to administer. There are explicit directions given and each student is given the same directions in the same way. o They are easier to grade, machines do it for us. o Very easy to use a computer to track progress and levels of achievement for different groups of students in different subjects. (Holloway) • Objectivity-It is very easy for a test to be objective, it doesn't have emotion or moods or biases. When giving more personal assessments, it is very possible that the teacher or person assessing the student can let their emotions or biases affect how they score that student. • Instigator of change-Standardized tests can be a powerful tool to change classroom and school practices (Gardner). We can use testing to tell us whether we have a problem (Gerstner). When we identify a problem in a classroom, school, or district we can then take active steps in correcting that problem. In addition, achievement data from tests provide teachers with valuable information to improve classroom and student learning (Gardner) • Accountability-Setting high expectations for students and holding them accountable for the same standards, leads to achievement gains. High-stakes testing forces students to take education...
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...for Superman does paint teachers unions in an unfavorable way, almost making them look like a cult-like organization with their leader being a blundering bureaucrat who uses rousing speeches to lead her group.Yet once past this dramatization, the overbearing flaws of teachers’ unions still heavily outweigh the flimsy arguments presented by Ayer during his essay. He uses the inequality argument of “before teachers unionized, the disparity in pay between men and women was disgraceful” yet there is much more to that point than just teachers unionizing. While women in America still face systematic oppression and underpay by their male counterparts, teachers unionization does not fix this issue. Men in the education system are still paid on average more than women doing the same jobs, but this is a downfall of all our systems, not just education. Furthermore, Ayer later provides a counterargument to his own by stating, “teaching has been historically devalued- teachers are less well compensated and have less control of their working conditions than other professionals- because of its associations with women.” He is correct in his statement yet he devalues his argument on the importance of unions by saying that the sexism is from outside of the education system, affecting the wages of hard-working...
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...role should standardized testing play in Texas' public education system? The methods by which children are educated and academically measured in Texas have evolved over the past few decades, due to federal and state directed education policies. In an effort to establish accountability and improve the nation's competitiveness on a global scale, standardized testing has become a driving component of curricula nationwide. Almost every state, including Texas, governs its public schools under a national policy directive known as the "No Child Left Behind Act" (NCLB). The NCLB requires all states to utilize assessments to determine and report if a school has made adequate yearly progress (AYP) in the proficiency levels of all students. This is a relatively recent shift from local control of schools to centralized governance which is intended to improve education and eliminate harmful disparities in education quality (Ricci 342). Instead of school districts determining education standards, the state and federal governments provide the policy direction. One method to assess education performance and compliance with the centralized policy is the use of accountability measures - i.e., standardized tests. The NCLB, coupled with state policy, is intended to decrease inequality and set an objective measurement in place where school districts, schools, teachers, and even students can be held accountable for their progress or lack thereof. However, there are arguments from opponents...
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...Introduction A. Social Problem Education plays an important role in the way a particular country progresses. The US has always strived for high education standards; however, recent statistics point out that the country has competitively fallen behind when compared to other developed countries. For this reason, education has played an important role in the US agenda for many years. In January 8th, 2002, the US Congress passed a law called “No Child Left Behind Act” (NCLB), which expanded the role of federal government in education. This law strongly emphasizes the implementation of standardized tests in public schools to measure the progress of students as well as to hold teachers and schools accountable for students’ progress. A social problem that the NCLB is trying to fix is the fact that the quality of education in US’ public schools has decreased during the last years. Alarming statistics have shown that the country’s education system is not as internationally competitive as it used to be. For example, according to a report issued by the Council on Foreign Relations, the United States has slipped ten spots in high school and college graduation rates in the past three decades (CFR). Poor education affects the entire country because of the close relation that progress has with having a skillful workforce. Furthermore, other social problems, such as poverty and crime, are indirectly related to inferior education. An extensive body of research has found that people with...
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...Pros and Cons of Standardized Tests Name of Author Institutional Affiliation Pros and Cons of Standardized Tests Regarded as one of the most dependable evaluation techniques, standardized tests have been in existence for decades. They continue to perform essential scholarly function in assessment and appraisal. Majorly, they test acquisition and retention of knowledge, and the way students can implement such knowledge in solving problems. Because they have been widely adopted by most states, the question as to whether they are appropriate or not has been a subject of contest for long. Although many opponents present a number of weaknesses in these tests, the purpose they serve remains significant, and their advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. The first argument against standardized tests is the fact that all students are not subjected to equal opportunities and corresponding probability of passing examinations (Hillocks, 2002). Because these tests are administered in uniform languages in different parts of the world, many students with outstanding knowledge fail examinations for not being eloquent in English or the languages used. In this regard, students who are well versed with content in various subjects may fail to express themselves in languages used for testing (Hillocks, 2002). Further, opponents argue that the tests remain narrow in scope and fail to assess practical achievement adequately. This presents the system as mere paper work compared...
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...Standardized Testing and Its Effects: An Annotated Bibliography The first standardized test was administered by Horace Mann in the nineteenth century as as a result of the concern with the educational reform in America (Gallagher, 2003). Although the students’ results were disappointing, this lead to the movement of using standardized tests throughout curriculum. In spite of the controversy, the popularity of this form of testing has increased greatly over time. The debate on standardized tests has been an ongoing issue throughout history. While some believe that these tests are an unjust, incorrect way to measure intelligence, others suggest that standardized testing is a vital part of the educational process. In order to gather an unbiased...
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...minute. Realization that this test score could cause numerous desirable colleges to decide denial of an application occurs, which causes the heart to race as if the body is running twenty miles per an hour on a treadmill. Having to resort to filling the remaining answer choices with the infamous “Letter of the Day” follows with only thirty seconds left until potential self-destruction. Congratulations, a full-blown panic attack has been incited. Fortunately, not everyone experiences the dread associated with taking the outrageously...
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...Standardized Testing: Good or Bad? Education is the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge. We all crave knowledge, we all learn new things every day, and we all make decisions based on our knowledge. It comes to no surprise that a major part of our lives is education, from pre-k to graduate school. Being successful in our education consists of hard work, a little luck, and now, more importantly than ever, being able to pass exams. Tests are one of the only ways to see how well we understand a subject and in many instances, can either make you or break you. Testing, however, should be based on the individual, where differences in the way students learn should be taken into account. As of several years ago, however, our education system has moved away from this individual approach, and has adopted a broad and general way to measure success: standardized testing. We have all taken standardized tests at point in our lives, be it the FCAT or the SAT which had a huge influence on which colleges we were accepted to. There is no argument that standardized testing does have its advantages, such as allowing schools and states to compare their education systems to one another, however, standardized testing being implemented as a major factor in our education has overall had a negative impact on education. The use of standardized testing in deciding whether a student passes or fails is simply wrong. Standardized testing should not be implemented into our school systems...
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...the article “What do test scores really tell us?” explains it all as to what Gary Gutting is going to focus on in the artifact I found. It goes on to address a variety of people, the main targets however are school board officials, parents, and even students. Gutting’s main thesis explains how we should be finding a reason as to why students do bad on standardized tests and how schools shouldn’t be so hasty to make changes because every students test differently from each other and one drastic change won’t necessarily fix the problems. Even though I agree with the point he is trying to get across, there are points in his argument where I don’t wholeheartedly agree with and that are weak and could use more substantial evidence. He often contradicts himself and statements he makes are opinionated. Not to mention that the examples he refutes, like the survey he included, are unreliable which goes back to where his argument is weak. There are a couple areas up for improvement, regarding the weak areas and contradicting statements. “What do test scores tell us” begins with telling how standardized testing isn’t used to benefit students, but that it’s used more as an evaluation for teachers and the school system. It then goes on explaining how bad test scores cause “educational reform”, supporting this with evidence...
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...5/2/14 Standardized Testing These days, if a school's standardized test scores are high, people think the school's staff is effective. If a school's standardized test scores are low, they see the school's staff as ineffective. In either case, because educational quality is being measured by the wrong scale, those evaluations are apt to be in error. One of the main reasons that students' standardized test scores continue to be the most important factor in evaluating a school is deceptively simple. Most educators do not really understand why a standardized test provides a misleading estimate of a school staff's effectiveness, as well as education quality for students. Standardized test are not effective measurements of a student’s knowledge, they create negative impacts on curriculum, and they are racially, socially, and economically biased. A standardized test is any examination that's administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner. There are two major kinds of standardized tests: aptitude tests and achievement tests. “Standardized aptitude tests predict how well students are likely to perform in some subsequent educational setting (SAT-I /ACT), both of which attempt to forecast how well high school students will perform in college. But standardized achievement-test scores are what citizens and school board members rely on when they evaluate a school's effectiveness.” (Popham) One of the most important reasons that students’ performances on these tests should...
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...discriminate against people. This stems partially from the civil war era and the debate as to whether there really are more than one species of human. The civil war was largely triggered by southern plantation owners who didn’t want to give up their slaves. These slaves were of African descent, and many southerners regarded them as having less rights than white folk. During the civil war, there was a lot of debate about the science behind race...
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...Students’ mathematical abilities were evaluated each year using standardized testing. In addition to this students were given an IQ test and surveys that questioned about their attitudes toward math. As the title of this report suggests they found that IQ was not the main determining factor in how well the student’s math abilities grew. Instead IQ was found to be a predictor of initial math skill and studying and motivation where found to be predictors of growth in mathematical abilities. These findings came as a surprise to the researchers who predicted that intelligence measured by IQ would be a strong predictor of mathematical abilities. This article encompasses the main findings of the researchers into a summarization of their findings. This research in this study is credible and believable but the article leaves out some essential information about the findings that could strengthen or weaken the researcher’s argument and allow the reader to develop their own opinion. In this study the independent variable is the student’s IQ and the dependent variable is the student’s mathematical scores/abilities. IQ tests have long been used as a system to measure the intelligence of the testee. Standardized mathematical testing is an accurate method of measuring mathematical abilities because it objectively scores each student’s mathematical knowledge in the same way. Due to the standardized nature of the IQ and math tests the student’s scores can be used to compare each other with...
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