Standardized Testing In Schools

As a kid in elementary school, anything followed by the word test was usually followed by a collective groan, coming from everyone. Little did they know that standardized tests would follow them for the rest of their time in school. Sometimes they would be taking them to track themselves, sometimes to make sure that their teachers and administrators are teaching the correct curriculum, and sometimes they would be taking them to determine if they can get into their dream school or if they will be able to get the academic scholarship that they need to help pay for school. Standardized tests can be used to compare teachers, schools, and students. They can be used to hold schools and teachers accountable for how well of a job they do and they
Without standardized tests, how would colleges decide who should gain acceptance into their school? Standardized tests are also able to reflect on how well teachers are teaching the things that need to be taught in order for students to be most prepared for their next level of schooling. It is important that students are kept on track so that when they get to college they won’t be academically behind all of their other peers. Although standardized tests can be difficult and demanding, they are necessary to accurately compare different schools, students, and teachers as well as to establish guidelines and goals for students to meet.
Schools, teachers, and most importantly, students, can be compared by using standardized tests. Standardized tests can be used to compare students with others around the country and prevent the students from falling behind their class. If a student has a good GPA and good grades then one may think that they are doing fine academically, when in reality it’s possible that they are behind other students around the country at the same grade level. Because their school doesn’t have standards that are high
“If everyone is taking different tests, then you can’t compare scores. If you can’t compare scores, then you can’t measure teachers, schools, or districts” (Aycock 15). This essentially means that standardized tests are a good way to collect scores that can be used to compare teachers, schools, and districts. Because the same test is being used and everyone isn’t using different tests, then the scores can easily be compared with each other. This fact is important because it shows how much standardized tests help with the comparison between teachers, schools, and districts. If a teacher is very lenient or making class easy for the students then they are really just hurting the students by not preparing them for the next step. If a teacher isn’t doing what he or she is supposed to be doing then they should be reprimanded so that they don’t continue to hurt the futures of their students. Standardized testing helps guide teachers and helps teachers decide what to teach and when to teach it in order to most effectively use up the time in the classroom (Bright Hub 5). When standardized tests are issued around the state or around the country then the results of these tests can be compared to see how well kids are doing. If a school is well below the national average then it can be clear