"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 compensate for this by making the tests very short, some only comprised of 20 to 30 questions total, which means that only one or two incorrect responses will seriously affect the grade. "A few unusual answers, a minute of inattention, even the need to go to the bathroom may lower a score from brilliance to mediocrity. " (Schmitz 1991) Standardized testing does not take into account factors such as varying developmental rates among children and testing environments, and the biased nature of the tests is a serious problem.
All major intelligence tests used in this country are based on the experiences of white, middle-class youngsters....Test bias keeps numerous low-income and minority-group children out of "gifted" and "talented" educational programs. Moreover, it fills classes for the "educable mentally retarded" with two to three times more lower-income and minority children than middle-class white children." (Schmitz 1991) student that performs poorly on tests once may never be able to break out of a vicious cycle, as he or she will be placed into the low-ability classes, and therefore learn less, then the student will test poorly again. This student, labeled as inferior, will suffer from self-esteem problems.
In conclusion, there may be a small number of benefits that can be reaped from standardized tests. Unfortunately, most of those benefits have nothing to do with the best interests of our children. These tests track students inappropriately into ability-levels, where students who scored poorly on tests will be "dumbed down."
In some schools students may be held back due to these test results regardless of classroom performance. The methods used to teach children to score well on these tests is actually counterproductive to higher thinking skills, and the limited curriculum that teachers use in test-driven classrooms is less interesting and unrelated to real-life. Standardized tests are used to...
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
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
Standardized Testing: The Good, Bad, and UglyToday, high-stakes standardized testing in the nation�s 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
There were none with limited English proficiency; those with Non-Limited English Proficiency ranked 50, there were no free or reduced lunch scores, those at non-poverty scored 57-64, while those at Poverty scored 42-46. In a graph showing the Stanford Achievement Test 10th Edition results in Reading for the entire system in Russellville City, Alabama, the males rank 48-60 and females rank49-52, the blacks rank at 29-40, the Hispanic at 16-40,
American public education system has endured many changes in the last few decades. It has gone from back to basics, to whole language learning, and then back to basics again. The system is constantly being scrutinized by the parents who send their children to it, the students themselves, experts in the field and politicians who use its flaws as a springboard for change, while using its successes as a
Essay Topic Examples 1. The Impact of Standardized Testing on Education Equality: This essay would explore how standardized testing contributes to or detracts from the goal of achieving educational equality. It could examine the fairness of these tests across different socioeconomic, racial, and geographical groups, and how they might perpetuate education gaps. 2. Standardized Testing as a Predictor of Academic Success:
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