Since their emergence in the early 1900’s, standardized tests have become an increasingly popular form of testing. While the concept for these tests may be rooted in the well-intentioned minds of some individuals, they have been greatly criticized by many others; we now question whether these types of evaluations are truly accurate determiners of this nation’s younger generations and their scholastic achievement. In 1909, the Thorndike Handwriting Scale became one of the first popular tests administered in an increasing number of schools. There was a relatively low number (approximately three or less) of tests administered during the entirety of a school career, with this number hereafter escalating about 10 to 20 percent annually, beginning in the year 1950. In the late 1970’s, tests were administered to lower grades, primarily, elementary school years. By the late 1080’s, most children in grades Kindergarten through fifth grade were being evaluated to measure whether their performance would grant them placement in the higher grade versus undergoing remediation, including thirty-seven U.S. states, which are now requiring that children take standardized tests in order to be accepted into kindergarten. Within 42 states there exist districts which require students to pass such tests before being admitted into the first grade. This, without taking into account the fact that children learn at different levels and speeds; during the initial years, there is a great amount of shifting and adaptation that takes place within the child’s mind and it is difficult to classify children into grades and within “acceptable” standards when they all learn differently and at their own pace. Schools have now become accustomed to utilizing these tests for their general accountability. Currently, they employ significantly greater amounts of time in teaching for tests rather than teaching for learning, retention, and application that would be of greater benefit for the lives of their students. Educators have adjusted their curricula to adhere to the necessities of the standardized tests and aid in students’ production of scores that will “reflect” the performance of their school as a whole in order to increase and/or maintain funding provided by the state and the national government. In doing so, they have taken away precious time that is supposed to be used for teaching students necessary concepts that will allow for their development and aid in the rest of their lives. Too many students are not accepted into the next level in school or are turned away by universities and other such institutions of higher-level learning simply because there now exists one much “easier” way by which to identify the abilities of an individual and gauge their performance in a general, less-effective manner. When we think about standardized testing, we think about worry, stress, and long hours in a chair filling out little bubbles. It is rare when anyone feels happiness when students have to take standardized tests. These competitive tests concern our students’ future. All together, standardized testing is a scary thought for the student, teacher, and parent. Standardized testing is a difficult challenge. Even though standardized testing is a proven way to measure a student’s academic ability, it has also earned a nasty reputation with teachers and students. Many teachers do not realize that testing can be affected by their own attitudes and gestures. Teachers’ attitudes about standardized tests are usually negative. Even though the teachers may not mean to be negative, any change in tone of voice or facial expression can affect a student’s performance. By having teachers eliminate their negative feelings about standardized tests, it will help students perform better on them. Research shows that test success is correlated towards a student’s attitude and motivation toward testing (Taylor). In order for teachers to help this trend, they can do a number of things to help students maintain a positive attitude. First, the teacher can have a positive attitude about the test. Secondly, teachers can explain the purpose of the test. This way the students can understand the test is meaningful and important. Lastly, the teacher can consider rewarding the class with something different or new when practice tests show good results (Teacher Prep). For instance, it is possible for teachers and schools to receive bonuses for increased test scores. On the other hand, students may receive food and tickets to parks or sporting events. A decrease in scores could lead to loss of funding or denial of high school diploma (Pollard).
However, rewarding teachers can cause the teacher to cheat on their students’ tests. Cheating has become a common trend in standardized testing. Students and teachers have been caught cheating. Teachers have given inappropriate help to students during the exams and also altered the answer sheets after the exams. Teachers teach towards the test. It does not matter if the student knows the material, but whether the student passes the test so there are no negative consequences (Pollard). The future for standardized testing is split; many people feel it is a good thing, while many others want to get rid of it.With No Child Left Behind standardized testing might be around for awhile.Many people in favor of standardized testing believe that it is a good thing because when a teacher teaches for the test they are teaching students concepts they need to know such as “graphing data, writing hypotheses, genre of literature, or the Pythagorean theorem” (Phelps 166).These people believe teaching to the test is also good because tests ask questions that should be taught in the curriculum (Phelps 94).These people also claim Not only does No Child Left Behind and standardized testing help by teaching them information they need to know but it also makes sure the teachers are well trained and know there material to be better teachers.The teachers have to be competent in the subject they are teaching so they can help teach this information that will be on the standardized tests.These people see standardized testing as a good thing and are glad to see it stay. There are also many people against standardized testing because they believe it wastes time for just teaching for tests and students do not learn anything from the test and are not given any opportunity to be creative.Alfie Kohn, a former teacher, believes that while we are still using tests they need to be changed.Kohn’s changes would include: “no time limits, not given to young children, not given to frequently, not used for rankings, should not be multiple-choice, and test should be use to make students understand ideas instead of memorizing answers” (Kohn 45).In the long run Kohn would like to get rid of standardized tests completely. One alternative would be to use “performance assessments”.Performance assessments would be something that would demonstrate that a student is learning by having them do something for example “designing and conducting an experiment, speaking a foreign language, or writing a play”.Another idea would be a school portfolio that would keep track of the students work and show their progress (Kohn 42).Many people think the same way Kohn does and hope that in the future there will not be any standardized testing. Works sited Phelps, Richard P., ed.Defending Standardized Testing,Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. 2005. Kohn, Alfie.The Case Against Standardized Testing.Portsmouth:Heinemann.2000. Pollard, Jonathan. Burnt at the High Stakes. Retrieved March 15, 2008, Web site: http://ilstu.vcolr.org/CourseEntry/CourseEntry.asp?CourseID=79&TermID=107 Taylor, Kathe (2001, January). Test Your Attitude- teachers’ attitudes toward standardized educational tests. Retrieved March 15, 2008, Web site: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_mOSTR/is_5_110/ai_69239372 Teacher Prep for Standardized Tests. Retrieved March 15, 2008, from Teaching Today Web site: http://teachingtoday.glencoe.com/howtoarticles/teacher-prep-for-standardized-tests Perrone, Vito. "On Standardized Testing." Association for Childhood Education International 1997 12 Mar 2008 <http://www.udel.edu/bateman/acei/onstandard.htm>. Weaver, Constance. "Facts On Standardized Tests and Assessment Alternatives." Michigan English Language Arts Framework 1995 12 Mar 2008 <http://homepage.tinet.ie/~seaghan/articles/10.htm>.
By:
Angela Martinez
Daniele Wilkins
Seth Munds
Since their emergence in the early 1900’s, standardized tests have become an increasingly popular form of testing. While the concept for these tests may be rooted in the well-intentioned minds of some individuals, they have been greatly criticized by many others; we now question whether these types of evaluations are truly accurate determiners of this nation’s younger generations and their scholastic achievement. In 1909, the Thorndike Handwriting Scale became one of the first popular tests administered in an increasing number of schools. There was a relatively low number (approximately three or less) of tests administered during the entirety of a school career, with this number hereafter escalating about 10 to 20 percent annually, beginning in the year 1950. In the late 1970’s, tests were administered to lower grades, primarily, elementary school years. By the late 1080’s, most children in grades Kindergarten through fifth grade were being evaluated to measure whether their performance would grant them placement in the higher grade versus undergoing remediation, including thirty-seven U.S. states, which are now requiring that children take standardized tests in order to be accepted into kindergarten. Within 42 states there exist districts which require students to pass such tests before being admitted into the first grade. This, without taking into account the fact that children learn at different levels and speeds; during the initial years, there is a great amount of shifting and adaptation that takes place within the child’s mind and it is difficult to classify children into grades and within “acceptable” standards when they all learn differently and at their own pace.
Schools have now become accustomed to utilizing these tests for their general accountability. Currently, they employ significantly greater amounts of time in teaching for tests rather than teaching for learning, retention, and application that would be of greater benefit for the lives of their students. Educators have adjusted their curricula to adhere to the necessities of the standardized tests and aid in students’ production of scores that will “reflect” the performance of their school as a whole in order to increase and/or maintain funding provided by the state and the national government. In doing so, they have taken away precious time that is supposed to be used for teaching students necessary concepts that will allow for their development and aid in the rest of their lives. Too many students are not accepted into the next level in school or are turned away by universities and other such institutions of higher-level learning simply because there now exists one much “easier” way by which to identify the abilities of an individual and gauge their performance in a general, less-effective manner.
When we think about standardized testing, we think about worry, stress, and long hours in a chair filling out little bubbles. It is rare when anyone feels happiness when students have to take standardized tests. These competitive tests concern our students’ future. All together, standardized testing is a scary thought for the student, teacher, and parent. Standardized testing is a difficult challenge. Even though standardized testing is a proven way to measure a student’s academic ability, it has also earned a nasty reputation with teachers and students. Many teachers do not realize that testing can be affected by their own attitudes and gestures. Teachers’ attitudes about standardized tests are usually negative. Even though the teachers may not mean to be negative, any change in tone of voice or facial expression can affect a student’s performance. By having teachers eliminate their negative feelings about standardized tests, it will help students perform better on them.
Research shows that test success is correlated towards a student’s attitude and motivation toward testing (Taylor). In order for teachers to help this trend, they can do a number of things to help students maintain a positive attitude. First, the teacher can have a positive attitude about the test. Secondly, teachers can explain the purpose of the test. This way the students can understand the test is meaningful and important. Lastly, the teacher can consider rewarding the class with something different or new when practice tests show good results (Teacher Prep). For instance, it is possible for teachers and schools to receive bonuses for increased test scores. On the other hand, students may receive food and tickets to parks or sporting events. A decrease in scores could lead to loss of funding or denial of high school diploma (Pollard).
However, rewarding teachers can cause the teacher to cheat on their students’ tests. Cheating has become a common trend in standardized testing. Students and teachers have been caught cheating. Teachers have given inappropriate help to students during the exams and also altered the answer sheets after the exams. Teachers teach towards the test. It does not matter if the student knows the material, but whether the student passes the test so there are no negative consequences (Pollard).
The future for standardized testing is split; many people feel it is a good thing, while many others want to get rid of it. With No Child Left Behind standardized testing might be around for awhile. Many people in favor of standardized testing believe that it is a good thing because when a teacher teaches for the test they are teaching students concepts they need to know such as “graphing data, writing hypotheses, genre of literature, or the Pythagorean theorem” (Phelps 166). These people believe teaching to the test is also good because tests ask questions that should be taught in the curriculum (Phelps 94). These people also claim Not only does No Child Left Behind and standardized testing help by teaching them information they need to know but it also makes sure the teachers are well trained and know there material to be better teachers. The teachers have to be competent in the subject they are teaching so they can help teach this information that will be on the standardized tests. These people see standardized testing as a good thing and are glad to see it stay.
There are also many people against standardized testing because they believe it wastes time for just teaching for tests and students do not learn anything from the test and are not given any opportunity to be creative. Alfie Kohn, a former teacher, believes that while we are still using tests they need to be changed. Kohn’s changes would include: “no time limits, not given to young children, not given to frequently, not used for rankings, should not be multiple-choice, and test should be use to make students understand ideas instead of memorizing answers” (Kohn 45). In the long run Kohn would like to get rid of standardized tests completely. One alternative would be to use “performance assessments”. Performance assessments would be something that would demonstrate that a student is learning by having them do something for example “designing and conducting an experiment, speaking a foreign language, or writing a play”. Another idea would be a school portfolio that would keep track of the students work and show their progress (Kohn 42). Many people think the same way Kohn does and hope that in the future there will not be any standardized testing.
Works sited
Phelps, Richard P., ed. Defending Standardized Testing, Mahwah:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. 2005.
Kohn, Alfie. The Case Against Standardized Testing. Portsmouth: Heinemann. 2000.
Pollard, Jonathan. Burnt at the High Stakes. Retrieved March 15, 2008, Web site: http://ilstu.vcolr.org/CourseEntry/CourseEntry.asp?CourseID=79&TermID=107
Taylor, Kathe (2001, January). Test Your Attitude- teachers’ attitudes toward standardized educational tests. Retrieved March 15, 2008, Web site: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_mOSTR/is_5_110/ai_69239372
Teacher Prep for Standardized Tests. Retrieved March 15, 2008, from Teaching Today Web site: http://teachingtoday.glencoe.com/howtoarticles/teacher-prep-for-standardized-tests
Perrone, Vito. "On Standardized Testing." Association for Childhood Education International 1997 12 Mar 2008 <http://www.udel.edu/bateman/acei/onstandard.htm>.
Weaver, Constance. "Facts On Standardized Tests and Assessment Alternatives." Michigan English Language Arts Framework 1995 12 Mar 2008 <http://homepage.tinet.ie/~seaghan/articles/10.htm>.