ENC 1101 Argumentation Essay
Madalyn Daniels
ENC 1101 600
Instructor: P. Rentz
July 24, 2014
Argumentative Essay
Word count: 1080
Schools think they are doing well but they are really they are hurting students. The main focus of classrooms today is testing. Classrooms are no longer focused on learning, they are being centered on raising a standardized test score: schools are putting too much emphasis on standardized testing.
However, it could be argued that emphasizing test scores promotes learning and is a key point in education. Some may even go as far as to say that test scores aren’t emphasized enough. Arguing that the scores indicate good teachers and schools. Or that the tests promote equality. Others may claim to look at China who has tested their students rigorously for years and is on top in education. Although these arguments are valid they do not take into account every detail.
A standardized test provides one score that may or may not be accurate. The accuracy of that score can be affected by several factors. The student taking the test may have had a so called bad day. In which they may have felt sick or been tired. Causing them to not perform on their highest level, this is especially prevalent in younger children. Education researcher
Gregory J Cizek says, “illustrating how testing… produces gripping anxiety in even the brightest students, and makes young children vomit, cry, or both.” (qtd. In Pro/con.org, n. page).
Nervousness on test day can also cause scores to fluctuate. The
Sacramento Bee has reported that, “test related jitters, especially among young students, are so common that the Stanford-9 exam comes with instructions on what to do with a test booklet in case a student vomits on it.”
(qtd. In Pro/con.org, n. page). These jitters really throw off the accuracy of one single test.
There is also the matter of a student’s test taking skills. A student may not have good grades or work well in the classroom, but may perform well on tests and be admitted into the next
ENC 1101 600
Instructor: P. Rentz
July 24, 2014
Argumentative Essay
Word count: 1080
Schools think they are doing well but they are really they are hurting students. The main focus of classrooms today is testing. Classrooms are no longer focused on learning, they are being centered on raising a standardized test score: schools are putting too much emphasis on standardized testing.
However, it could be argued that emphasizing test scores promotes learning and is a key point in education. Some may even go as far as to say that test scores aren’t emphasized enough. Arguing that the scores indicate good teachers and schools. Or that the tests promote equality. Others may claim to look at China who has tested their students rigorously for years and is on top in education. Although these arguments are valid they do not take into account every detail.
A standardized test provides one score that may or may not be accurate. The accuracy of that score can be affected by several factors. The student taking the test may have had a so called bad day. In which they may have felt sick or been tired. Causing them to not perform on their highest level, this is especially prevalent in younger children. Education researcher
Gregory J Cizek says, “illustrating how testing… produces gripping anxiety in even the brightest students, and makes young children vomit, cry, or both.” (qtd. In Pro/con.org, n. page).
Nervousness on test day can also cause scores to fluctuate. The
Sacramento Bee has reported that, “test related jitters, especially among young students, are so common that the Stanford-9 exam comes with instructions on what to do with a test booklet in case a student vomits on it.”
(qtd. In Pro/con.org, n. page). These jitters really throw off the accuracy of one single test.
There is also the matter of a student’s test taking skills. A student may not have good grades or work well in the classroom, but may perform well on tests and be admitted into the next