Persuasive Essay On Standardized Testing

Michelle Obama once said, “If my future were determined by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn’t be here. I guarantee you that.” Standardized testing is, “any form of test that requires all test takers to answer the same questions, in the same way, and that is scored in a “standard” or consistent manner” (“Standardized Test Definition”). Standardized testing is used in most schools and is used to determine the futures of many students’ educations. These tests usually have sets of multiple choice, or true or false questions that are to be answered within a limited amount of time. Many people think that this is the only way to accurately measure a student’s individual intelligence. Even though almost all schools make students
In other words, these tests only focus on basic subjects like math, reading, and writing instead of evaluating the full ability of the student. According to researcher Gerald W. Bracey, aspects that standardized tests cannot evaluate include: "creativity, critical thinking, resilience, motivation, persistence, curiosity, endurance, reliability, enthusiasm, empathy, self-awareness, self-discipline, leadership, civic-mindedness, courage, compassion, resourcefulness, sense of beauty, sense of wonder, honesty, integrity" (“Standardized Tests”). This quote shows that test graders are only measuring a small portion of what really makes education important. It continues to show how standardized tests have failed to contribute and portray different aspects of student
States spend millions of dollars a year on these standardized tests. According to the Texas Education Agency, “the state spent $9 million in 2003 to test students, while the cost to Texas taxpayers from 2009 through 2012 is projected to be around $88 million per year” (“Standardized Tests”). “That's not including nearly $20 million a year on testing related materials and almost $10 million every year for retakes over the summer” (Martinez). Added up, this comes to a total of $93 million that year alone. Even after spending millions of dollars on these tests, including to get graded, administers still fail to accurately grade the students’ scores and deliver them on time. For example, “NCS Pearson, which has a $254 million contract to administer Florida's Comprehensive Assessment Test, delivered the 2010 results more than a month late and their accuracy was challenged by over half the state's superintendents” (“Standardized Tests”). Considering how expensive standardized tests can be, education systems should not see them as a necessity since they are an unreliable source of student growth, but cost so much