a. These will monitor the level of learning of the students.
b. It will diagnose the aspect of difficulty of the students
c. It will assess the teaching of the teacher, either effective or not.
d. It will serve as guide to further teaching
e. It will serve as basis for school development
f. It will reflect on the attainment of goals and objectives of the school
Experts are very divided over the issue of examination in education. Some educational professionals argue that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Perceived benefits are the raising of standards, the easy access to a guaranteed benchmark of excellence for employers and universities, and the raised aspirations and efforts of students when they know there is a test at the end of all their lessons. Classroom attendance in school is said to be better when students know that there is a challenge or a payoff in terms of an examination qualification at the end. other educationalists say that examinations cause stress that is a barrier to learning and that not all students learn the same way or have retentive minds for facts. They are better at coursework moderated through the year.
Like the previous editor said, researchers are indeed always debating.
I will add that what is really hurting education is that the data that these tests bring in is not being used to DIFFERENTIATE instruction, and instead is being used as a sole method of measurement to either open or shut down schools. What this is bringing with it is that teachers are teaching to the test, the test comes and goes, and so does the school.
What needs to happen is that whatever assessment tool we already have should be used to determine what our students NEED nor where our students are. For that, we would need a Pre/Post testing for quantitative correlations. Since that is hardly the case, it would be safe to argue that standardized testing is definitely not being used correctly and eventually will end up killing education as you say.
There is much in the educational discourse about the nature of high stakes standardized assessment. There is a definite school of thought that argues placing such a high emphasis on test production and results does kill off the joy of learning. On one level within this thought, the questions arise as to how students and teachers can enjoy any process of learning when so much of it is linked to success or failure on a test. There is a strong desire to "teach to the test" solely and not engage in any intellectual exploration outside of this realm. At the same time, if the exams are written by an external source, teachers lose much of their autonomy having to teach to an exam that they have not had a role in preparing. At the same time, the stress caused on students who feel pressured to have to succeed on the assessment really removes much in the way of joy in the learning process. This line of thought is highly persuasive examining how many students feel stressed to an unhealthy level during periods of high stakes standardized assessment.
The short answer is yes.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
These test only show the students’ performance the day of the test and not the overall growth of the student over the year. The standardized test does a disservice to both the teacher who worked hard to help their students grow and the student who worked extremely hard over the course of the year and improved tremendously, but failed to pass the test. Many people would argue that teacher and student performance should be evaluated on growth over the year instead of one single test. Many of these students are smart and understand the content, but it does not show on the test. Also many students develop test anxiety which causes stress on the students which leads to negativity directed at school and learning in general. In a picture the teacher says “For a fair selection everybody has to take the same exam: Please climb that tree”. The students he is talking to are a money penguin, elephant, fish, seal, and a dog. Based on these animals only the money will be able to pass the test. This is how the government see all the students, they believe all students are the same when they are actually…
- 1488 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
The tests themselves are not cause for concern. The amount of value the federal government place on the tests is the concern. The students know how pertinent the test is for their grade and this stresses students out. Stress is not beneficial to student lifelong learning. If we teach to the test, the students will likely forget the rapid mass of information pushed into them.…
- 448 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Do you wanna waste time on standardized tests if not change how we take tests today. Some think standardized tests are reliable and some think they are a waste of school class time. I think standardized tests are a waste of time and money because most are not reliable.…
- 418 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
These tests do not force students to think on their own. They are not expanding their knowledge, rather they are memorizing information that they know will be on the test. Standardized tests need to force students to learn the…
- 545 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
A large issue with our educational system is standardized testing. Standardized tests are used to measure students academic achievement and gage teaching. While the intentions are good, the tests are flawed and often discriminate against students. Due to the weaknesses, standardized tests are an unreliable source of measuring student performance.…
- 582 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Standardized Testing has been a part of education since the mid-1800s. In 2002 the No Child Left behind Act was put into place, which requires all 50 states to have mandated annual testing. The use of standardized testing in a school can have harsh effects if the scores are too low. It could lead to students being held back, teachers being fired, or if it becomes a big issue even school closings. US students slipped from 18th in the world in math in 2000 to 31st place in 2009, with a similar decline in science and no change in reading. Failures in the system of education have been blamed on the rise in poverty, the ADHD “epidemic”, and teacher failures, but have we ever thought that it could be from standardized testing? If not standardized testing, then what could we do? I believe that instead of standardized testing, we should consider having more parent-teacher conferences or at least communication between the two, and have quarterly performance based assessments.…
- 916 Words
- 4 Pages
Better Essays -
One reason a standardized test should not be required is that some students don’t test well. Some of the students that naturally don’t test well get good grades and are good students. I am one of many that have a difficult time testing. Some students get nervous and have anxiety over testing; they will not be able to show what they actually know. The tests do not show the students true skills.…
- 765 Words
- 4 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
In all truth I feel that standardized test need to be gone for good. If not they should should be written in a way that is not biased and accessible to people of different backgrounds. According to Noliwe M. Rooks, research shows that tests heavily…
- 613 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Standardized test are over testing students. Students standardized test scores should not represent a student's competence. Students can have many problems when taking a test or many distractions. There can be many external factors when a student's takes a test. They could have had a fight early the day with their parents or they could have had something emotionally happen to them lately taking their focus of the test. However, their are some good sides to the test but their are a lot of bad sides and problems that can affect the student's competence. Standardized tests should not represent a students…
- 735 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Imagine our little brothers, sisters, or even our children having hard times learning at school. Now imagine them not being able to proceed to the next level of their education because they scored low on one of their tests. Standardized testing has been around for centuries; since the 1800’s to be exact, and every year since then the average success rate in the US for students K-12 has decreased. It doesn’t take doing research on success rates to know that the world we live in today is not at the educational level it once was. School should be something people look forward to not something they dread. We should eliminate standardized testing in the US because not everyone learns the same way.…
- 1284 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
Standardized testing is not the best way to measure how well a teacher teaches or how much a student has learned. Schools throughout the United States put their main focus on standardized tests; these examinations put too much stress on the teachers and students and cause traumatizing events.…
- 861 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
tests are often used to evaluate the quality of education in a school as well. But how well do they really accomplish this? Standardized tests are considered by many to be inaccurate and overly stressful for students. not to mention the corporate corruption involved in their production. They should be carefully examined and reconsidered. if not replaced entirely.…
- 715 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Standardized testing is something you're bound to come across in public schools as soon as first grade. I remember taking test after test as a public school student, and I can't really say I ever got anything out of it. These tests are putting so much pressure on teachers and students a like. A bunch of old men sitting around a table who've never even stepped foot in my school can make a test and say that it evaluates what students have learned as a whole. The problem with standardized testing, its just that, its standardized. Humans strive by working with their peers, giving them the chance to directly feed off of what others are thinking. However this is being pushed aside by the hustle and bustle of teaching a multiple choice test. Standardized testing is being over used and abused. How we are testing, who we are testing, why we are testing. We need to evaluate if its really worth all the money and trouble in the end. According to the teachers on the receiving end these tests seem to be doing more harm than help. Teachers feel they are just teaching a multiple choice test now to assure that their students do well. Testing also takes money, resulting in many districts cutting programs such as arts. Standardized testing is also a money making business, someone out there needs to sell these tests to your school district so they can take a pay check home. Most teachers have a negative attitude about testing because it bring more heartache than help. This needs to be evaluated to assure that we are getting some positive useful information out of our tests.…
- 1747 Words
- 7 Pages
Good Essays -
One of two things must occur, teachers should monitor students progress within the year to ensure that they are continuing to make progress or government should continue to use standardized testing as a method to compare students to their peers. However, standardized testing often causes additional stress and anxiety in students. Also, standardized testing is not fair to all students, because some students come from diverse cultures where English is not the dominant language. Standardized testing is not the best way to track students yearly progress because often students develop stress and anxiety, and they often do not retain the information they are taught at the last minute before the test. In conclusion, standardized testing causes unnecessary added stress and anxiety in students and therefore it should no longer be used as a progress tracking system for…
- 1129 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
To start off with, standardized tests are inaccurate. As previously stated in the paragraph above, standardized tests are hyped throughout the school year, leaving students to worry about them all year. This will eventually cause the students to feel extremely stressed out on the day of the test. The stress will get to some students and affect their testing ability. This can be prevented in a variety of ways, but removing the test entirely would be the best and the most cost efficient way to fix this.…
- 557 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays