Ineffectiveness Of Standardized Testing

Despite the 2012 decrease in the amount of standardized testing to be administered across the state of Texas, the use of this particular testing has gained extreme momentum in the academic arena, weighing heavily on students, parents and teachers. There are increasing efforts to now alleviate the use of tests in elementary and middle schools. Currently for high school students, standardized testing is the end-all for some students upon matriculation and they are being over-tested, taking multiple tests on the same material to complete high school and enter college. Critics say too much testing results in teaching to tests instead of more comprehensive learning (Smith). Those who disagree with that would argue the question of how to know the
Social and economic inequalities are reflected to disproportionately penalize students of color and low-income. Students who are learning English as a second language and those with learning differences or disabilities, are more likely to be retained in grade, placed in remedial education programs, and ultimately denied diplomas. Their curriculum is “dumbed-down” which almost guarantees they consistently fall far behind their peers – diminishing the very core of their youthful experience. Many districts have transitioned to relying solely on these scores as the single most important indicator of performance. This pressure alone is the number one reason that educators and administrators are reducing themselves to cheating. This lack of veracity facilitates a cheapened ‘welcome’ for incompetent individuals we entrust our children to; and also pushes out those instructors that have real passion and talent for teaching our children appropriately. The lack of accountability exposed in these tests not only illustrates the inferior level of education our children receive worldwide, but also the false impression of academic improvement. Standardized tests render only a morsel of a true comprehensive assessment system; improved methods of student evaluations already
Consequently, if education reform doesn’t come swiftly and effectively in our Texas policies, a new ‘norm’ will emerge as more families find ways to homeschool their children where standardized testing is NOT required. Those students earn a higher GPA upon graduation as well as graduate college at a higher rate than their institutional peers. A new study published in The Journal of College Admission suggests that homeschool students enjoy higher ACT scores, grade point averages and graduation rates compared with other college students (O’Shaugnessy). Imagine the drop in enrollment… Imagine the drop in sales – when our children are no longer on the