Damaris Benitez
Period-6
12/11/2015
A C- for Standardized Testing
Does making children, preteens, teens, young adults and adults, sit for 2-4 hours looking at questions with answers really show the amount of knowledge that, the human actually possesses. Standardized testing has been apart of American eduction since the mid 1800s. It has been proven that it has a positive effect of students academic achievement, and has made students want to achieve good grades and study hard for the test. Another positive about standardized testing is that teachers, teach whats on the test allowing them to be more specific in the sense of teaching and instructing their students. However, of course it has its downsides.
The preparation for standardized testing is a lot for the students. Including some downsides, that come with it, like the overwhelming pressure put on the students by teachers. Most of the time, teachers mention the idea that everything they are preparing for is for the big test. You can't blame the teacher for not pushing their students to do well, and its really hard to ignore the fact that the students must do well, not only for themselves, but also in order for the school and instructor to have a well reputation. This does not only cause an overwhelming pressure to the students but also stress.
Sometimes the stress of having to make time for homework, reviews, and studying is to much. Causing the students for their grades to drop, again with the overwhelming idea that they have so much to get done. Standardized testing has even been proven that it is not a reliable source for academic performances, thanks to the Booking Institution for assuring us that test scores are "caused by fluctuations that had nothing to do with long-term changes in learning..." . It requires the student to remember and study topics they learned as far back as 4-6months ago. Making them, basically re-teach themselves the topic that they had learned.
Therefore, standardized testing should be taken out of school, and the small unit tests inside classes should be enough to prove how well the student knows the subject, and their grades show how much they actually care about keeping their grades up and high. If a test is what proves their level of comprehension, they might as well just go to school to get a copy of notes, study at home, and come the day of the final. Colleges should even take this in to consideration, because if a student that is in a class with over 200 peers, are they actually learning or just there to get the link to the notes. Maybe just small unit tests of 45-50 questions proves the knowledge, rather than brain frying the students mind and giving them multiple test in one day, that are at least 65-115 questions long and take up most of the day. That to me, just sounds like a plan for a gloomy, depressing day, staring at words the entire time, wishing I was at a private school that do not believe in standardized testing or wishing I was home-schooled.
Resource: http://standardizedtests.procon.org/
https://www.bitstrips.com/create/comic/
