Standardized Testing In Public Schools

Introduction.
In the United States, efficiency and instant gratification is everything. We are constantly bombarded with meaningless awards and achievements to make ourselves, and especially our children, feel special. But we have to ask ourselves, what is being rewarded? In the American public school system, everything is built on an unstable foundation called standardized testing. Standardized testing consists of strict curriculums with certain information that must be retained until a test is prepared. Standardized testing is a rinse and repeat method where children memorize facts and reiterate them multiple times. But there is an absence of critical thinking, which consists of knowledge and skills that can be applied to an endless amount
Students are given information and are expected to reiterate it back when the time comes, from grade 3-8 and again in high school. This would not be so horrible if the questions asked were open ended, but they are actually multiple choice. Standardized testing isn’t all that bad when it is applied in the appropriate environment. China is the earliest known source of standardized testing. It was used to test potential government employees for their knowledge on Confucian philosophy. In World War I, these aptitude quizzes assigned the most ideal job for servicemen. How does that compare to our children, who will also become our future? We should not be treating children as though they are simply training for a career. If they train for what we know now, we will never develop new ideas. Although certain schools have different standardized tests for each student based on their academic level, most of the questions are the same and are pulled from a large test bank. These tests are used as an “end of the year” review for each student, and will determine if he or she will go on to the next grade. Entire days are devoted to standardized testing, and teachers will often have to stand and walk around for the duration of the test. Unfortunately, none of the tests have open ended questions, which has been criticized because it does not invoke critical
Students are going to school to take tests, when they should be learning important life skills to prepare themselves for the future. The Opt Out movement has only just started changing things. In the future, we can expect major changes in the public educational system as people become more vocal every day. Lobbying and political rallies will help make this grassroots campaign come to life. A major budget reform in the education system needs to take place before standardized testing can be