Even the most ardent opponents to standardized testing among the teaching profession would likely argue that the demand for accountability is a legitimate one. Every profession needs to establish its credibility among the public and teachers should not be immune from this process, however, what has been lost in the process of trying to make teachers accountable is the value of what can be learned beyond the preparation for the standardized test. There is a necessity and value in establishing accountability but the method of using the standardized test to do so must be questioned.
When the use of standardized testing first came into vogue throughout the U.S. The goal was to establish a procedure for assessing students' educational achievement and to use such data to prepare all students to better compete in the marketplace. It was thought by testing students periodically throughout their educational career adjustments could be made along the way that might correct any potential problems. Unfortunately, a huge gap has occurred between what the original goals were and what the present reality is. Over the course of time, the sheer quantity of testing, the acceptable standards for passing, and the use of the testing data has increased well beyond what was originally contemplated and the individuals paying the price are the teachers.
The original goals in establishing standardized testing were not to measure the effectiveness of teachers or schools. The original goals were to assess the educational progress of the students. The original goals were not punitive in nature; instead, it was to provide assessment; just another tool in the continual process of educating young minds. The tests were not intended to replace the professional judgment of administrators and principals in assessing their staff. What has developed is a system of testing and re-testing that under minds the educational process and does not enhance the learning environment. Instead, it creates a stressful, restrictive, unimaginative, and fear driven environment.
This situation alone should be sufficient for policy makers to take a fresh look at the use and utilization of standardized testing but, on a more pragmatic level, the mere cost of the standardized testing should raise the concerns of such individuals (McNeil, 2007). It is estimated by some experts that nearly one half of a school system's yearly budget is allocated in some fashion to the preparation of standardized testing. The financial resources of the nation's schools are being utilized for the design and production of tests, the communication and enforcement of testing protocols, the extensive staff hours needed for test preparation, testing, scoring and reporting of test results, and the various other related costs that accompany the administration of the standardized tests. The funds being used were once used for hiring new teachers, providing educational...
The 1892 Committee of Ten of the NEA stressed that high schools were sadly only for the elite, but in the succeeding century, there was a marked increase of national wealth, improved living standard and a greater demand for better trained labor force. This led to reorganization of secondary education into one that would cater to the population's growing industrial democracy and the cardinal principles of secondary education were
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