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An Argument against Standardized Testing in Schools

When it comes to education, what really matters? Is it that a student achieves the best
score on a carefully generated test, or is it that a student learns the knowledge they need to
progress in life? Most people would agree with the second statement, but despite this it is evident
that the schools themselves would rather focus on the first. Students of all ages spend 180 days a
year acquainting themselves with six to even twelve classes. Doing classwork. Doing homework.
Studying for tests and quizzes. Completing projects. Students work hard all year to receive an
education, and all of that work being successfully examined by one test, in one day, is not only
unrealistic; it is unfair.
If schools want to fairly and accurately test students, they should have the tests be created
by the teachers and not the state. Some students do not do as well on standardized tests as others.
Things such as test anxiety can cause an inaccurate portrait of a childs academic progress.
Students may worry about standardized tests because of the large portions of their grades they
represent. With that much pressure on a student to perform it can be hard to focus. Another
external factor that can affect students testing is a lack of sleep. Say a student was unable to get
sleep the night before their big test due to reasons out of their control. Their neighbors dogs
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would not stop barking, their parents had a late argument, and maybe the student lives in a bad
neighborhood and is kept up at night by gang violence. It is not fair that a students entire year of
academia can be greatly and negatively affected by one bad night of sleep (Pros and Cons of

Standardized Testing). Normally it isnt so bad to underperform on a test due to external factors.
Most classes have more than 5 tests, so doing poorly on one of them is really only an
inconvenience. On the other hand, up to thirty-percent of a students final class grade can be
decided by standardized testing. You cannot accurately define an entire year of work by one day.
In many states standardized testing is used along with a set curriculum. The teachers
know what is on the test, and are given a rough outline of what to cover so that their students are
ready for it. This is the fairest approach to standardized tests because it helps students adequately
prepare for them. On the other hand there are some states that give the test but do not define the
curriculum. In these cases teachers have a general idea of what to cover in their classes, but most
subjects are so broad that you cannot cover everything in 180 days. That is why teachers have to
decide which parts of their subjects they think are most important to the curriculum. This leads to
many of the same classes having wildly varying curriculums depending on the school and or
teacher. If schools are going to establish standardized testing they should also establish a
curriculum as well.
Some people grow up dreaming of being a teacher. They dream of shaping childrens
minds, helping their students see the world in new ways, giving them the tools they need to
succeed. They do not envision themselves following a list of topics and making sure the students
have memorized certain words or events. It is important to give teachers freedom and allow them
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to teach the way they want to. Galen Barrett of the Oregonian Newspaper asks, what is more
important: to lead students through a laundry list of important facts, dates and events or to teach
students to think about and act in the world while providing essential investigative skills for

further learning? At the same time, one of the earliest supporters of standardized education,
Diane Ravitch, recently became a critic, stating that standards and testing threaten to de-skill
and dumb down public education. Rather than being asked to critically analyze what the phrase
Columbus discovered America means, students are asked to identify the date that the
discovery occurred. Ravitchs concern that educators are exchanging knowledge for
understanding is valid and unfortunately can be seen a lot throughout America (The Downside
of a Standardized Curriculum).

Percentage of Students That Meet State Test Standards


50
45
40
35
30
Percentage

Percentage of students meeting


State Standards (English)
Percentage of students meeting
State Standards (Math)

25
20
15
10
5
0

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Year

(2008 Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program Data Release)


This is a graph of the amount of students attending schools in the San Diego Unified
School District that met the State Standards on their tests between the years of 2004 and 2008.
As you can tell from the graph, the district is gradually improving their scores but over fifty
percent of their students are still making scores below the State Standards. This is most likely not
because they are a bad district, but because the state of California is still figuring out their
standardized tests and how to make and grade them most effectively.

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Another problem caused by the introduction of standardized testing comes from the fact
that many school districts use these tests to determine funding for individual schools. With the
financial status of the school depending on testing so much, many schools have taken dishonest
measures to insure their school receives the money it needs. An example of this is in Atlanta,
where over 150 teachers from 44 different schools were discovered to have been changing
answers on their standardized tests. Teachers at one Atlanta school held weekend pizza parties
where they would correct answers before turning them in for grading. Many of these teachers
were afraid of losing their jobs and some were told to get (the) scores by any means necessary.
By putting pressure on their schools to do well on the standardized tests, districts are causing
scores to become more important than the actual educations of their children. If public schools
continue to use test scores as financial incentives, sooner or later the schools receiving the most
money will not be the most proficient, they will be the most corrupt (Atlanta Cheating).
While most of the questions on standardized tests are multiple choice, many tests also use
short answer to get a better idea of a students writing aptitude. These are the prompts for the
writing section of the tests, and ask questions pertaining to the tests subject. This part of the test
cannot be graded by a computer, so the test companies hire scorers to read and grade them
instead. With the use of humans comes error. Scorers make eleven to thirteen dollars an hour and
only have bachelors degrees. These scorers are usually straight out of college and need the
money. Scorers are also not even required to hold degrees related to education or the test
questions they are grading. These factors combine to create a lackadaisical approach towards
grading, and overall less accuracy. One solution to this problem is allowing teachers to grade
these short answers instead. Teachers previously created and administered their own tests,

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and since they no longer have to, why cant they grade them? Students short answers can be
distributed evenly and made anonymous so that teachers can grade them without bias. With this
solution, not only will schools get more accurate scores, they will also save more money
(The Unintended, Pernicious Consequences).
In the argument against Standardized Testing in schools, many points can be made.
Standardized tests can not accurately define an entire year of work, and one bad day can
negatively affect your grade in a big way. Standardized tests can also restrict a teachers ability to
teach, and can make teaching a less desirable job. Another point is that when schools without
standardized curriculum are given standardized tests they are at a disadvantage. Other schools
that would also be at a disadvantage are the schools with lower test scores. Some districts use the
test scores to determine individual school funding, and because of this some schools will use
dishonest methods to achieve the test scores they need. Finally, the written parts of standardized
tests are not graded as accurately as they could be due to low qualifications for scorers, and
could be more accurate if they were graded by teachers instead. Standardized testing has been
used for years but still has many flaws. At this point it makes more sense to find a better
alternative, than to wait for it to improve. Students work hard all year to try to get an education,
and all of that work being successfully examined by one test, in one day, is not only unrealistic; it
is unfair.

Works Cited

Derrick Meador. Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing. About Education. Web. 23
February 2015

Galen Barnett, The downside of a standardized curriculum. The Oregonian. 31 July


2009. Web. 23 February 2015

San Diego Unified School District. 2008 Standardized Testing and Reporting(STAR)
Program Data Release. San Diego Unified School District. 2008. Web. 1 March 2015.

Steve Osunsami, Ben Forer. Atlanta Cheating: 178 Teachers and Administrators
Changed Answers to Increase Test Scores. ABC News. 6 July 2011. Web. 27 February
2015.

Audrey Amrein-Beardsley. THE UNINTENDED, PERNICIOUS CONSEQUENCES


OF STAYING THE COURSE ON THE UNITED STATES' NO CHILD LEFT
BEHIND POLICY. International Journal of Educational Policy & Leadership. 22 June
2009. Web. 27 February 2015

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