Standardized Testing: The Good, Bad, and Ugly
Today, high-stakes standardized testing in the nations schools is commonplace, and the practice has been used in American schools at some level for more than 175 years. During this time, standardized tests have been accepted for their ability to gauge student learning by some, criticized by others and lambasted by some, but they have generally been accepted as the only cost-effective, standardized method of measuring educational attainment that is currently available. The purpose of this paper is to examine these good, bad and even ugly aspects of standardized testing to determine the facts. Following this review, a summary of the research and important findings about standardized testing are provided in the papers conclusion.
The Good
Much of the good that is associated with standardized testing is attributable to the fact that these testing methods have been used in the United States for a very long time. Moreover, standardized tests were originally developed by the prominent educator, Horace Mann. In this regard, one historian reports that, The man considered to be the Father of Standardized Testing in the U.S. is Horace Mann, who was secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education from 1837-48 (History of standardized testing, 2013). Prior to the introduction of standardized tests in 1845, most American schools used oral examinations as the main method of measuring educational attainment (History of standardized testing, 2013).
In addition, proponents maintain that some other good qualities of standardized tests include their demonstrated ability to objectively measure educational attainment in ways that uneven grading schemes cannot as well as their ability to identify educational attainment areas that are in of improvement. In sum, standardized tests provide a valuable framework in which the nations students can be assessed in a uniform fashion to measure their knowledge (Do standardized tests improve...
…they need in the 21st century workplace, teaching to the test also conceals the true status of educational attainment and does not identify where learning deficits may exist. As one critic concludes, Standardized tests only determine which students are good at taking tests, offer no meaningful measure of progress, and have not improved student performance (Do standardized tests improve education?, 2020, para. 8).Conclusion
The United States is a generous nation and it has not skimped on education. Enormous sums of scarce taxpayer resources have been used to build, maintain and administer public schools across the country, but far too many students still struggle to attain the education they need to compete effectively in the 21st century workplace and many critics blame standardized testing for this suboptimal outcome. The research did show that standardized testing is regarded as an equitable method of assessing educational attainment and in identifying learning deficits by some educators, but the criticisms…
References
Black, A. J. (2020). High-Stakes, Standardized Testing and Emergent Bilingual Students in Texas: A Call for Action. Texas Journal of Literacy Education, 8, 18–37.
Do standardized tests improve education in America? (2020, December 7). ProCon, Inc. Retrieved from https://standardizedtests.procon.org/,
History of standardized testing. (2013, October 18). Lehigh University. Retrieved from https:// ed.lehigh.edu/news-events/news/history-standardized-testing#:~:text=The%20man% 20considered%20to%20be,of%20Education%20from%201837%2D48.
Thus, the best way to achieve educational improvement and student success is to pair the issue of standardized testing together with other teacher-based assessments. Standardized testing should remain a focus of the educational realm for administrative purposes, such as planning standards and curriculum. In order to determine whether a student is ready to advance, however, teachers should make recommendations to their administrations, citing evidence. By opening this recommendation process
"One problem with achievement testing is that a few minutes of performance time can end up directing a young child's entire educational career." (Schmitz 1991) When tests are administered to young children that take extended periods of time to complete, such as those which take six to eight hours with only short bathroom breaks, the child's naturally shorter attention span may affect performance on the tests. Many test makers
OCR recognizes that colleges and universities are under a lot of legal and political pressure to stop using racial and ethnic factors in admission," Clegg commented. "[In response,] the agency wants to intimidate colleges and universities to continue using these preferences." (Black Issues in Higher Education, 1999) The National Association of Scholars, while raising doubts about the reasoning behind the OCR document titled "Nondiscrimination in High-Stakes Testing," pointed to what it
Abstract The relevance of having in place standards of fair testing practices cannot be overstated. This is more so the case when it comes to highlighting and clearly outlining the obligations of those who either construct tests or formulate testing program policies and those who us tests. It is important to note that the Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education comes in handy for tests developed professionally such as the
There are, for example, many ways for a student to present an understanding of the causes of the U.S. Civil War" (1999, p. 35). Conclusion The research showed high stakes standardized testing approaches are becoming increasingly commonplace in the nation's schools, and the outcome of these testing regimens has enormous implications for the students involved, as well as for their teachers and schools. The research also showed that by formulating standards
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