Argument Essay: Standardized Testing
Standardized Testing: Good or Bad?
If someone was to ask you “how do you define student achievement?” what would your answer be? Would you say student achievement is measured by state achievement tests? Or would you say that student achievement is too complex a subject to be objectively measured? There are many important skills students must be taught, and we need a way to effectively measure if they are in fact learning those skills. However, standardized tests cannot effectively show the learning of all students, especially those that are not good test takers. And of those skills that are tested, there are an endless number of arguably more important skills that aren’t being valued because they cannot be calculated. Furthermore, standardized tests don’t encourage learning, they encourage shallow thinking directed at finding the quick and obvious answer. It’s time that we realize standardized tests aren’t efficient, and don’t effectively measure student achievement
While many still insist that standardized testing gives us an accurate and comprehensive look into what students are learning because they are objective, fair, efficient and comprehensive (Walberg) this isn’t the case. The truth is they are a very poor judge of student achievement because they are still just very small samples of behavior that conclusions are drawn from. And while these tests might be fair, based on time limits and all tests being identical (or nearly) they are not equitable. Fair means everyone gets the same, whereas equitable means everyone gets what they need. As a student who continues to take standardized tests annually I have seen first hand that intelligence cannot be adequately measured by a standardized tests. Many students are equally as smart as their peers, but perhaps learn differently and therefore cannot always demonstrate their intelligence on a standardized test. It’s time that we recognize we have the ability to make school equitable and meet the needs of all,
If someone was to ask you “how do you define student achievement?” what would your answer be? Would you say student achievement is measured by state achievement tests? Or would you say that student achievement is too complex a subject to be objectively measured? There are many important skills students must be taught, and we need a way to effectively measure if they are in fact learning those skills. However, standardized tests cannot effectively show the learning of all students, especially those that are not good test takers. And of those skills that are tested, there are an endless number of arguably more important skills that aren’t being valued because they cannot be calculated. Furthermore, standardized tests don’t encourage learning, they encourage shallow thinking directed at finding the quick and obvious answer. It’s time that we realize standardized tests aren’t efficient, and don’t effectively measure student achievement
While many still insist that standardized testing gives us an accurate and comprehensive look into what students are learning because they are objective, fair, efficient and comprehensive (Walberg) this isn’t the case. The truth is they are a very poor judge of student achievement because they are still just very small samples of behavior that conclusions are drawn from. And while these tests might be fair, based on time limits and all tests being identical (or nearly) they are not equitable. Fair means everyone gets the same, whereas equitable means everyone gets what they need. As a student who continues to take standardized tests annually I have seen first hand that intelligence cannot be adequately measured by a standardized tests. Many students are equally as smart as their peers, but perhaps learn differently and therefore cannot always demonstrate their intelligence on a standardized test. It’s time that we recognize we have the ability to make school equitable and meet the needs of all,
Cited: Walberg, Herbert J. "Standardized Tests Effectively Measure Student Achievement."Standardized Testing. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "Stop the War Against Standardized Tests." Defining Ideas: A Hoover Institution Journal (20 May 2011). Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 14 Apr. 2013. Harris, Phillip, Joan Harris, and Bruce M. Smith. "Standardized Tests Do Not Effectively Measure Student Achievement." Standardized Testing. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "Chapter 3: The Tests Don 't Measure Achievement Adequately." The Myths of Standardized Tests: Why They Don 't Tell You What You Think They Do. 2011. 33-45. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 14 Apr. 2013.