Argumentative Essay On Standardized Testing

Standardized Testing Education is extremely important in today’s society. Knowledge is power. According to Christine Armario from the associated press, “United States’ students are continuing to trail behind their peers in a pack of higher performing nations, according to results from a key international assessment.” (XXX) Out of 34 countries, the U.S. ranked 14th in reading, 17th in science and 25th in math. (XXX)It is obvious that something in the education system in America is not working out. We are falling behind a lot of other nations. The main reason for this decline in rankings of education is because of the reliance on standardized testing. Standardized testing does not improve student achievement. All the time spent studying for these tests takes away from actually learning new material. Tests can only measure a very small portion of what students actually know and what makes knowledge meaningful, such as being able to apply things in real life situations. Schools spend too much time teaching students test strategies and therefore students become good at taking tests instead of developing other skills that could help them down the road in their adult lives.
A May 26, 2011, National Research Council report found that no evidence test-based incentive programs are working: "Despite using them for several decades, policymakers and educators do not yet know how to use test-based incentives to consistently generate positive effects on achievement and to improve education." Even with a reward in place for doing well on the tests, students still did not do produce. Students also become stressed out by testing and therefore their minds cannot function as they would normally because they feel pressured that a majority of their grade is based on