Negative Effects Of Standardized Testing
The Side Effects of Standardized Testing
You would not give your kids unneeded pills that had side effects of limited creativity, stress, or anxiety, so why give them unneeded tests that do the same? In a peer-reviewed journal, 2015 Schooling In America Survey, it is stated that 60% of Americans believe negative thoughts about K-12 education, that it has gotten off the wrong track (DiPerna). A large number of parents, students, and teachers all believe that education is not on the right track. Why do we waste so much money on tests that so many people believe are not even suitable for K-12 education? Following the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) on January 8, 2002, yearly costs on standardized testing rose from $423 million to …show more content…
“Teaching to the test” isn’t a good practice for students who want to learn extra. Standardized testing causes many teachers to only “teach to the test”. This practice can hinder a student’s overall learning potential. With the stakes getting higher and higher for teachers this practice will only continue to increase (University 2). Teachers feel that they need to teach only the information on the test because they can’t fit any extra information in. On the other hand, some researchers say that “teaching to the test” is a good thing. It focuses on essential content and skills, eliminates time-wasting activities that do not produce learning gains, and motivates students to excel(Barth). There are a few pros of standardized testing. Another reason is that it gives teachers guidance to help them determine what to teach students and when to teach it. The net result is less wasted instructional time and a simplified way of timeline management (University 1). It may save the teachers some stress in planning a lesson, but the student loses out on learning other things important to this subject because they only learn what will be on the standardized test. During the time that a child is taking a test, he/she could be doing something far more valuable: actually learning something new and interesting. A 2007 survey of 1,250 civics, government, and social studies teachers showed that 75% of those teaching current events less often blame standardized testing (“Survey Finds”). And if that many history teachers do not teach current events, you can definitely bet that other subjects are suffering,
You would not give your kids unneeded pills that had side effects of limited creativity, stress, or anxiety, so why give them unneeded tests that do the same? In a peer-reviewed journal, 2015 Schooling In America Survey, it is stated that 60% of Americans believe negative thoughts about K-12 education, that it has gotten off the wrong track (DiPerna). A large number of parents, students, and teachers all believe that education is not on the right track. Why do we waste so much money on tests that so many people believe are not even suitable for K-12 education? Following the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) on January 8, 2002, yearly costs on standardized testing rose from $423 million to …show more content…
“Teaching to the test” isn’t a good practice for students who want to learn extra. Standardized testing causes many teachers to only “teach to the test”. This practice can hinder a student’s overall learning potential. With the stakes getting higher and higher for teachers this practice will only continue to increase (University 2). Teachers feel that they need to teach only the information on the test because they can’t fit any extra information in. On the other hand, some researchers say that “teaching to the test” is a good thing. It focuses on essential content and skills, eliminates time-wasting activities that do not produce learning gains, and motivates students to excel(Barth). There are a few pros of standardized testing. Another reason is that it gives teachers guidance to help them determine what to teach students and when to teach it. The net result is less wasted instructional time and a simplified way of timeline management (University 1). It may save the teachers some stress in planning a lesson, but the student loses out on learning other things important to this subject because they only learn what will be on the standardized test. During the time that a child is taking a test, he/she could be doing something far more valuable: actually learning something new and interesting. A 2007 survey of 1,250 civics, government, and social studies teachers showed that 75% of those teaching current events less often blame standardized testing (“Survey Finds”). And if that many history teachers do not teach current events, you can definitely bet that other subjects are suffering,