Preview

Should Standardized Test Be Abolished from the School Educational System in America?

Best Essays
Open Document
Open Document
3611 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Should Standardized Test Be Abolished from the School Educational System in America?
Should Standardized Tests be Abolished from the School Educational System in America?

The standardized test issues have always been one of the most important issues in the educational system of a country. Standardized test is a test for which norms on a reference group, ordinarily drawn from many schools or communities, are provided (Van Kollenburg, Susan E., 2002). In simpler terms, standardized tests are designed to give a common measure of students’ performance. A very large amount of students graduate every year from schools all over the world. Thus, standardized tests give educators a common model for assessing these students. Standardized tests are also known as high stakes tests. Although the names, formats and manners in which these tests are administered to students differ according to country, the benefits and costs that these tests bring are similar. In the United States of America particularly, it is compulsory for all students graduating from high school to sit for the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT).
The SATs started when in 1933, James Bryant Conant, president of Harvard decided to start a new scholarship program for academically gifted boys. Henry Chauncey and Carl Brigham were given the task in finding a test to evaluate candidates for these scholarships. They came back with recommendation that he used the SAT because he thought it measured pure intelligence, regardless of the quality of the taker’s high school education. Chauncey administered the SAT to more than 300,000 people all over the country in a single day. In 1948, the Educational Testing Service was chartered and the SAT was on its way to becoming the basic college admissions device for millions (Frontline, 2008). To this day the SATs are owed by the College Board, and administered by the Educational Testing Service (Conner, 2001). SAT results are used as one of the primary factors in the selection process of students for college admissions.
Influential figures of the society have



Bibliography: Charles, D.C. (2008). Teachers’ Perspectives on the Unintended Consequences of High Stakes Testing. [Online]. Retrieved on 22 October 2008 from http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04092008-223420/unrestricted/charlesdiss.pdf Conner, A Frontline. (2008). A Brief History of the SAT. [Online]. Retrieved on 29 September 2008 from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/sats/where/history.html Foster, R Gardner, W. (2008). Lessons From Finland: The Way to Education Excellence. [Online]. Retrieved on 23 September 2008 from http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/02/27/7330 Grabmeier, J Haugh, O. The Standardized Test: To Be or Not to Be. The English Journal, Vol. 64, No. 3 (Mar., 1975), pp. 53-55 Jones, S Kohn, A. (2000). Standardized Tests and Its Victims. [Online], Retrieved on 25 September 2008 from http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/edweek/staiv.htm Koretz, D Pollard, J. (2002). Measuring What Matters Least. [Online]. Retrieved on 25 September 2008 from http://www.standardizedtesting.net/ Peterson’s Phelps, R. P. (2003). Kill the Messenger: The War on Standardized Testing. Transaction Publishers. [Online]. Retrieved on 23 October 2008 from http://books.google.com.my/books?id=05VjFXLxH-IC&printsec=frontcover#PPA44,M1 Phelps, R Sampson, R. (2006). What Your Child Needs to Know When. Heart of Wisdom Publication Inc. [Online]. Retrieved on 18 October 2008 from http://books.google.com.my/books?id=Sfkmvb77O_IC&printsec=frontcover#PPA84,M1 Sloane, F Van Kollenburg, Susan E. (2002). Standardized Tests. [Online]. Retrieved on 14 October 2008 from http://www.paradisevalley.edu/AI/documents/standTests.doc.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Standardized testing has become the focus of modern school reform since the implementation of the No Child Left Behind law in 2002 (Evans 1). The act was designed to hold all public schools to a high standard of education, measured by the results of students’ test scores on statewide standardized tests. Not all students are good test takers, and not all careers require the ability to take traditional tests in order to be successful on the job. A significant number of students nowadays would care much about standardized tests. This is because students feel like they must worry about a test which directly affects their grades and ability to learn. Standardized tests place a heavy weight on students that can lead to stress, take up instruction timing, and students won’t be able to learn anything from them.…

    • 407 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    2003 Dbq Analysis

    • 479 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Document 2 states, “Here is Gerald Bracey’s list of some of the biggies that we generally don’t even try to use standardized test to measure: creativity, critical thinking, resilience, motivation, persistence, enthusiasm, empathy, self-discipline, resourcefulness, honesty, and integrity-to name a few.” It is evidently shown that Document 2 addressed a common issue with standardized test and this acts as a counterclaim when supporters of standardized test say that it covers everything. As a result, this allots Document 2 great credibility and…

    • 479 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Sacks, Peter. Standardized Minds: The High Price of America 's Testing Culture and What We Can Do to Change It. Cambridge, MA: Perseus, 1999. Print.…

    • 2569 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Supporters believe that standardized tests are not narrowing the curriculum, rather they are focusing it on important basic skills all students need to master. Therefore, considering these views, it is understandable as to why standardized testing is seen to be a great indicator of a student’s future academic…

    • 937 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    When going to school students are supposed to learn based off a curriculum, but instead they are learning based off a test. These test are meant to help students, but instead they are hurting them. Standardized test requires all test takers to answer the same questions, or a selection of questions from common bank of questions, in the same way. Also they are scored in a “standard” or consistent manner, which makes it possible to compare the relative performance of individual students or groups of students. Each state has a different name for their standardized test, for Virginia they call theirs the Standards Of Learning, SOL’s. These test are neither fair nor objective, puts pressure on the students, and it cuts off time in the school year.…

    • 1488 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Since being implemented into school curriculum more than fifty years ago, standardized testing has become the most prevalent form of comparing and ranking students across the nation and around the globe. Although standardized testing occurs in the majority of first-world countries around the world, The United States has received the brunt of public criticism for their overuse and excessive difficulty of the tests. Most American students begin state-wide or nation-wide assessments in elementary school and continue all the way through junior high and high school, culminating with perhaps two of the most well-known standardized tests, the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the American College Testing (ACT). The tests can cause severe stress and…

    • 230 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    High- Stake tests, depending on how they are made, can either a positive and negative effect on a child’s education. They are tests that make important decision about students, teachers, schools, and districts and their purpose is accountability. There has been debates on if the high- stakes tests in America are having a negative effect on their children. These tests have been around for a long time and have served as a great way to measure students' knowledge and growth as a whole. Based on some studies, it is clear that the high- stake test should be revised and changed to better evaluate students and teachers' performance.…

    • 1572 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    My Paper

    • 1097 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Standardized testing, every student should be familiar with it, but is it nonsense? Does it actually help schools and their students advance in academic competence, or does it hinder their ability by adding more anxiety and stress to students? Jacequeline Howard, a twenty year old student helps us disclose on these examinations by giving us a student’s perspective on how standardized testing is not only changing the way government looks at funding, but also discouraging students and changing the way people look at students. Through Howards ethos, pathos, logos, and style in her essay, we can really see her passion for other students and her reason to promote a change.…

    • 1097 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Over the course of a person’s life, he or she will be subjected to taking standardized tests. Whether in elementary, middle, or high school, these test are known by all students. Many students dread everyday leading up to the day of the test. Standardized tests are not efficient in improving the performance of students.…

    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Standardized testing is one of the most passionately debated educational topics in America. As a student within American school system, thoughts of my own are formulated on such topics. Standardized testing is a debate on whether or not they are useful in improving instruction and performance. While some believe that standardized test such as EOG (End of Grade), SAT, or ACT are great ways to strengthen a student’s instruction and performance, I. myself have to disagree for many reasons.…

    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    When was the last time the United States placed first in global mathematical performance? In the latest score reports, the U.S. didn’t even place in the top 30 countries. Over the last few decades, students in the United States’ public education system have been scoring progressively less in areas such as mathematics and science. As one could imagine, this is a very alarming trend that could be detrimental to the advancement of our country if not addressed properly. Without an emphasis on mathematics, the United States will have a massive decline in progression as it loses more and more prospective occupations such as engineers, physicists, etc. These subjects have become so standardized, that the only way to efficiently correct this problem is to reform the public educational system by deviating away from things such as standardized testing and…

    • 1238 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    tests are often used to evaluate the quality of education in a school as well. But how well do they really accomplish this? Standardized tests are considered by many to be inaccurate and overly stressful for students. not to mention the corporate corruption involved in their production. They should be carefully examined and reconsidered. if not replaced entirely.…

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Standardized tests have become a recent controversial topic across the nation. Americans strive for a great education system, but fail to realize that testing is the main issue. They are believed to be a simple way to evaluate students from all different areas. However, there are countless faults that cannot show truly show students’ ability. Standardized tests in the United States do not accurately measure intelligence and should be modified to prevent issues in academics.…

    • 1852 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Standardized testing can be stressful for high school students. The outcome of the test determines whether the student passes or fails. The test is useful when diagnosing a problem or trying to determine if a student has learned what the teacher has taught them. Standardized test results are used as a large factor to make decisions regarding graduation and grade promotion. When standardized tests become high stakes tests is when they become a problem. Standardized testing is a problem because it affects the curriculum being taught in school, has negative impacts, and the test itself is biased against some of the students taking it.…

    • 1142 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Sat and Its Disadvantages

    • 5220 Words
    • 21 Pages

    For years, juniors, seniors, and even sophomores have feared the dreaded SATs. The SAT is a test you can't fail but must pass, for it will affect the rest of your life. The SATs have been notorious for the anticipation students experience before the test. With all the practice tests, prep classes, extremely thick technique books, and most of all, the overwhelming…

    • 5220 Words
    • 21 Pages
    Powerful Essays