Standardized Testing Is Equal for All?
Alexandra Montenegro
Professor Anderson
English 100
June 8, 2013
Standardized Testing is Equal for All? Standardized testing had been made mandatory for each state in the United States since the early 1900’s. It was said that these multiple choice exams were a fair way to measure the student’s general knowledge gained during the school year and to confirm that the schools and teachers are teaching their students the adequate information required. Although this may sound as if it were a positive system, it in fact has had negative impacts in all aspects. The mandatory tests have a drastic price, are unfair to foreign language and learning disability students, have not made any of the improvements predicted, and does not measure the students or teachers overall qualities. The amount of standardized tests made mandatory resulted in a skyrocket of price. Pew Center on States determined that the amount of $423 million that was spent reached up to $1.1 billion after the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002. Since then, Washington-based Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution calculated a total of $1.7 billion dollars is now being spent on the tests. Although the amount is only 1% of the budget spent annually on K-12 grades, if cut, teachers could actually see a raise in pay of 1%. The amount of money spent of each student varies drastically as well. New York pays $7 for each of their students to take these tests while the District of Columbia pays $114 per student. On February 17, 2009, President Obama’s Race to the Top program was signed in, allowing schools to compete for an increase of $4.35 billion in budget. The money would be awarded to schools who have better testing scores. Though this is an incentive for schools to teach their children the best they can, it is an unfair advantage for schools who already have a higher budget than their competitors. The amount of money spent on these tests and the amount of money offered to schools who do
Professor Anderson
English 100
June 8, 2013
Standardized Testing is Equal for All? Standardized testing had been made mandatory for each state in the United States since the early 1900’s. It was said that these multiple choice exams were a fair way to measure the student’s general knowledge gained during the school year and to confirm that the schools and teachers are teaching their students the adequate information required. Although this may sound as if it were a positive system, it in fact has had negative impacts in all aspects. The mandatory tests have a drastic price, are unfair to foreign language and learning disability students, have not made any of the improvements predicted, and does not measure the students or teachers overall qualities. The amount of standardized tests made mandatory resulted in a skyrocket of price. Pew Center on States determined that the amount of $423 million that was spent reached up to $1.1 billion after the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002. Since then, Washington-based Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution calculated a total of $1.7 billion dollars is now being spent on the tests. Although the amount is only 1% of the budget spent annually on K-12 grades, if cut, teachers could actually see a raise in pay of 1%. The amount of money spent of each student varies drastically as well. New York pays $7 for each of their students to take these tests while the District of Columbia pays $114 per student. On February 17, 2009, President Obama’s Race to the Top program was signed in, allowing schools to compete for an increase of $4.35 billion in budget. The money would be awarded to schools who have better testing scores. Though this is an incentive for schools to teach their children the best they can, it is an unfair advantage for schools who already have a higher budget than their competitors. The amount of money spent on these tests and the amount of money offered to schools who do