“measurement of student achievement is complex-too complex for the social science methods presently available" (Harris et al). These methods, of course, include standardized testing. This was said over a decade ago, and unfortunately, the way we measure student achievement has not changed. In fact, according to psychometrician Daniel Koretz, “scores on a standardized test usually do not provide a direct and complete measure of educational achievement” (Harris et al), which means that while these tests are supposed to measure how a child is doing academically, they do not. Moreover, these tests cannot measure a child’s motivation, creativity, or critical thinking skills, all vital tools for student achievement. Asking standardized tests to score student achievement is downright appalling. As stated by Harris et al, “the problems [with determining student achievement are] worse because we've asked test scores to carry ever more weight and we've depended on them to make ever more consequential decisions” (Harris et al). This means that decisions such as which children receive tutoring services, which schools receive more funding and which school districts are named exemplary, is not due to the work put in by the student, teachers and administrators, but by how well the students score on standardized tests. The adverse effects of standardized testing on learning is astounding.
The curriculum in place has no room for anything other than learning how to pass these tests. Ariel, an honors English teacher, states that “[m]y curriculum now contains only two books, instead of the 12 I used to teach. Any books I teach outside of the curriculum will harm my students' scores on the tests that evaluate them and my performance.” (Williams). This is truly saddening, as students do not get the chance to be creative, to learn for themselves. Everything done in the classroom is about the tests. What standardized testing is teaching children is alarming. Paula, an elementary school teacher, speaks on how “[c]hildren are getting the message at a very young age that if you pick the right choice between several options you can be successful” (Williams). There is no critical thinking, no place for failure. Children are learning that the only thing that matters is passing, or getting a good grade, no matter what the cost. This is no way to learn, yet this is what is being taught in elementary schools across the …show more content…
country. The pressure put on young children to pass standardized tests cannot be ignored.
It is immense, and it is damaging. According to Joseph Spector, “[s]ix in [ten] school psychologists said the Common Core learning standards, which includes state exams for students in third through eighth grades each April, has increased students’ anxiety” (Spector). Over half of school psychologists agree that these tests harm students, causing them stress that a young child should not have at that point in his or her life. Spector goes on to say that “[t]he report contended that the test anxiety is more common at the elementary-school level, saying students more often showed ‘internalized’ symptoms such as excessive worry and withdrawal”. This stress shapes young children’s minds, and does so detrimentally. Marian Wilde writes that “[o]ne recent study from the Stanford School of Medicine indicates that the number of children, ages 7-17, treated for depression more than doubled between 1995 and 2001”. This is extremely distressing as it speaks on how the strain of taking standardized tests is taking a toll on children’s mental
health.