Standardized Testing Advantages

Today, we face an ever looming issue; how do we accurately assess educational progress, but not detract from the learning experience? The age old method for measuring students’ academic abilities has always been standardized testing. However, standardized testing only proves education is lacking, revealing generally poor performance across the board. Standardized testing undermines the education process with too much focus on assessment, detracting from student-centered development and deeper learning experiences. Standardized testing only benefits administrative, political, and financial purposes instead of education. For the sake of academic development, we need to find an alternative for assessing student performance that does not hinder the learning process and we need to embrace teaching methods that engage students to become more creative and think critically.
Unrealistic expectations have been placed on students, demanding an ever-growing academic need, but education has not improved to the same degree. “Most states have long realized that the goals set by NCLB [No Child Left Behind, an education act enacted in 1965 designed to compensate for disadvantages in learning opportunities] – such as 100% proficiency in reading and math by 2014 – could not be achieved” and “In 2013, the U.S. Department of Education wisely began to allow states to opt out of meeting this unattainable requirement” (Dianis 37). Many people are beginning to open their eyes to the many flaws of standardized testing and how it hinders the advancement of