The Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing

The idea of standardized testing has been around since 1845. It was brought up by an educator named Horace Mann who thought that the evaluation of written exams was better than oral exams (Gershon). According to Carole J. Gallagher, Mann’s goal was to create or find a way to give every student equal opportunities in the testing environment. Standardized testing has been a part of the learning environment for over 150 years. Although some argue that standardized testing is the best way to show a student’s growth throughout the year or semester, it is only a measurement of that student’s performance on that day, it often causes an increase in anxiety, and standardized testing effects the way that teachers choose to teach their classes.
Standardized tests are defined as any form of tests that require the test takers to answer the same questions in the same environment which are scored in a consistent manner. Across the nation, standardized tests are used sequentially to measure students’ growth throughout the year. For each subject there is one test for one day. In North Carolina public high schools, that one
The No Child Left Behind Act, passed in 2002, requires states to test children from third grade to twelfth grade in math and reading. The major focus of the Act was to provide all children with equal learning opportunities. Although this act was supposed to enhance student achievement, “After No Child Left Behind (NCLB) passed in 2002, the US slipped from 18th in the world in math on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to 31st place in 2009, with a similar drop in science and no change in reading” (ProCon). This change shows the ineffectiveness of standardized testing in America. Standardized testing causes an anxiety in the classroom not just amongst students, but among teachers who feel they are not teaching their students everything they need to