Performance Or Portfolio-Based Assessments

Imagine being a young teen, scared and nervous thinking this test is going to shape your future. Then, all of sudden there it is right in front of you. You knew all the answers because you spent hours studying, but for some reason your mind just cannot seem to access the information. Then you think maybe it is the stress . For me, this was my experience during the SAT just a few short years ago. This test began to make me question whether the SAT was an accurate measure of my knowledge. In that moment, I arrived at the question How accurate is Standardized testing within the United States education system?
This is not as simple as yes or no; this issue is much more complex because educators must consider many factors, such as curriculum
Expert Anya Kamenetz has an abundance of alternate solutions to this problem such as sampling,stealth assessment, multiple measures, social and emotional skills survey, game-based assessment, inspections, and performance or portfolio based-assessments. The method I find particularly useful is her idea of Performance or Portfolio based assessment. This allows teachers to monitor students progress over a extended time period so they are truly able to get a well rounded understanding of the students real comprehension of the content. This is done by looking at various assignments, projects, reports, papers and group presentations.(Kamentez, Anya. "What Schools Could Use Instead Of Standardized Tests." ) This would meet some of the concerns made by both arguments because you would still be able to measure a student's comprehension of the overall content being taught by teachers, while also not having to put them through the stress of standardized testing. This then begs the question that if we have the perfect solution why not hold the education system responsible to implement this solution? Some may argue that we cannot implement these solution because of things such as they are not efficient enough for colleges to measure. Another argument may be that teachers across the nation may have different assignments they give students so how do we ensure everyone is learning the same material? But these are all arguments that could be resolved through educators uniting to ensure students receive a quality education that is the same one every other student their age is receiving. Since educators are the ones in charge of children's education they should be responsible for implementing these alternate solutions. These solutions will ensure children all across the nation have the same chance at applying to each college with confidence that their work is a reflection of their