Essay On Excessive Standardized Testing

The United States is falling lower in education ranks while other countries are climbing, and there is a potential contributing factor: excessive standardized testing. America is ranked 17th in science and 24th in math (reading was exempt due to a printing error) out of 57 other countries. (Wilde) Although the United States is in the middle of the group and not the lower end, as large and diverse as the country is, one would think that America would be a fearsome competitor in educational standards compared to other industrialized countries in the world. The exorbitant amount of standardized tests that students undergo every year affects the quality of education these students are getting. There are as many as 20 standardized tests per school year- 9 out of 180 days, not to mention the time spent preparing students for these tests. In the classroom, time could be spent learning about substance pertaining to a subject that may help a student in ways outside of standardized testing, instead, students are being taught matters that will be on the tests. Consequently, this angle of education prevents students from getting
Whether the reasons are emotional stress, financial illiteracy, poor study habits, or just no knowledge of what to expect from life outside of high school and living independently. Correspondingly, high school students are learning nothing that will take them beyond high school; American education’s priority focuses on standardized tests over preparing students for adulthood. Of course, knowledge of the information on these tests are important; the tests help students know information that will help with college classes. On the opposing end, there is no instruction on what to expect or prepare students for adulthood. If the United States desires to climb above other countries in education status, there need to be changes in the education