Argumentative Essay On Standardized Testing

Standardized tests are used to measure the performance of students in comparison to others in the same class/level as them, an example being a standardized test used to measure the performance of all students in AP English. They have been a part of American education since the mid-1800s, and their use as greatly increased after George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act was put in place, mandating annual testing in all 50 states (“Standardized Tests”). In the United States, standardized testing is used to measure the performance of educational institutions and teachers, distributing funds accordingly to those institutions based on the results. There is currently controversy over the enforced use of standardized testing. Some say that it maintains
According to Time magazine, Hispanic and African American students consistently score worse than Asian and white students. This statement is supported by the situation in Virginia, where 68 percent of white students and 82 percent of Asian students must pass a standardized math test for a school to stay in good standing, while only 45 percent of black students need to pass the same test (King, “Should We Get Rid of Standardized Tests in School”). The statement by Time magazine is also supported by statistics given by the Department of Education, showing that Hispanic and African American students in New York consistently score lower than whites and Asians on standardized tests. The Department of Education goes further stating that black and Latino students score lower than whites and Asians “so consistently that although they are almost 70 percent of the overall student body, they are only 11 percent of students enrolled at elite public schools”(Rooks, “Why it’s Time to Get Rid of Standardized Tests”). A recent study by the Annie E. Casey Foundation also found that the gap in test scores between rich and poor students have grown by almost 60 percent since the 1960s (Rooks, “Why it’s Time to Get Rid of Standardized Tests”). While unaccountable variables and unfair biases show why standardized testing should be removed, there are some who
According to the Center for Teaching and Excellence at the University of Illinois, multiple choice questions can provide "highly reliable test scores" and an "objective measurement of student achievement" (“Standardized Tests”). In theory, the scores taken from the test should be more accurate if the questions are more thought provoking, but in actuality a student’s performance cannot always be accurately shown on the test scores due to outside factors that might affect the student’s test taking performance that day. Like stated earlier, standardized tests only assess a student’s knowledge during that test-taking period, so it cannot be said that the person’s score is a true representation of what they know, as seen through Priya’s story about her experience with the SATs. Those who support standardized tests also say that these tests are fairer when being scored compared to tests given by individual