Argumentative Essay On Standardized Testing

George W. Bush once stated, "You don't know unless you measure...' If you don't test, you have a system that just shuffles the kids through, and that's unacceptable. It's unacceptable to quit on a kid early and just say, 'Move through, and hope you learn.'” Researchers and data analysts at the S.E.E.A.L.L University have noticed that standardized testing is a very controversial topic to many people. Standardized tests are a test that students have to take every year in order to determine whether a student is at a standard or level of knowledge and skill that they are supposed be at. There are some people who say it helps them improve in several ways while others say that it negatively affects them. Both of these groups of people are correct.
The results of the test will have a major effect on the way that a teacher perceives a certain student. This helps them know which students need more help therefore improving the student as well as themselves. A fourth grade teacher named Cheryl Krehbiel stated, “ Clearly students can’t learn what I don’t teach them. Having the courage to learn about my own professional needs from the (testing) data is a lesson that I can’t afford to miss.” (Testing for Results, 10). This argues that standardized testing is beneficial as it is very clear that this teacher supports the idea of the test in order to improve herself and her student at the same time. If a student receives a very low score, this demonstrates that the student is below the standard that they are supposed to. A school or teacher will then be able to know that they need to place special attention to the specific student to make sure that they reach or go above the standards. An article stated, “Standardized testing motivates teachers to work harder and more effectively. They can better identify areas of strength and weakness in their teaching plans and then can restructure them.” (The pros of standardized testing, 2). In other words standardized testing improves both the student and the teacher as they have to find better ways to make the student understand what they are trying to teach them. It allows them to know whether the way
This is very important for the success of a student. According to an article, “In order to provide a quality education for every child in America, we must first test them to find out which children are not learning at the level or pace necessary.” (Testing for results, 12). This can be done only when their standardized test score is known. The school system will be able to know about students who are far away from the standards that all other students in the area. By comparing the scores, a child or group of children below the average score could be singled out and helped out by their teacher in order to improve. In addition, George W. Bush has stated, “What you've got to do is measure to determine where they are, and then you can compare districts and compare States. And as a result of strong accountability measures and better teachers and more funding, the results are positive.” The scores that students receive are very important in determining whether the school system of a certain state is effective in teaching important material to students. A state that is weak in this area could be helped out to prevent them from becoming worse than they were before. However, this cannot be done unless standardized testing is