Standarized Testing
Standardized Testing in Schools
102
December 16,2012
Bryan Dunston
Standardized tests are administered in all schools across the U.S. in lieu of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. According to these laws, schools have to administer standardize tests to qualify for various types of licensing and grants. For instance, a certain percentage of the students in public schools must pass the standardized tests to be allowed federal support and funding for that particular school. If the results of the standardized tests are not at par, the school does not get funding. At the same time, many students have to take high-stakes standardized tests to get into various colleges/universities of their choice. If the students do not do well on such tests, they are denied admissions. The thing to note about these standardized tests is that they are not reliable and they contain various biases in them. Many people have criticized how such tests do not contain relevant information that can be found in the course syllabus and they test students on impractical levels. Others believe that standardized tests provide results based on very few parameters that do not reflect the students’ real intelligence. Looking at the various researches and opinions of critics, we find that standardized testing is not an effective measure of gauging students’ intelligence, and they should not be used in schools. For example, one of the biggest reasons standardized testing is not effective is because of the subjectivity that can be found in such tests. For instance, Williams (2005) speaks of how many of the standardized tests are gauged by computers. These computers look at the essays input and they provide the results after running certain algorithms that measure certain aspects of the essay, such as structure. Williams (2005) presents a very interesting fact of how some of his colleagues and even he himself used an online website to
102
December 16,2012
Bryan Dunston
Standardized tests are administered in all schools across the U.S. in lieu of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. According to these laws, schools have to administer standardize tests to qualify for various types of licensing and grants. For instance, a certain percentage of the students in public schools must pass the standardized tests to be allowed federal support and funding for that particular school. If the results of the standardized tests are not at par, the school does not get funding. At the same time, many students have to take high-stakes standardized tests to get into various colleges/universities of their choice. If the students do not do well on such tests, they are denied admissions. The thing to note about these standardized tests is that they are not reliable and they contain various biases in them. Many people have criticized how such tests do not contain relevant information that can be found in the course syllabus and they test students on impractical levels. Others believe that standardized tests provide results based on very few parameters that do not reflect the students’ real intelligence. Looking at the various researches and opinions of critics, we find that standardized testing is not an effective measure of gauging students’ intelligence, and they should not be used in schools. For example, one of the biggest reasons standardized testing is not effective is because of the subjectivity that can be found in such tests. For instance, Williams (2005) speaks of how many of the standardized tests are gauged by computers. These computers look at the essays input and they provide the results after running certain algorithms that measure certain aspects of the essay, such as structure. Williams (2005) presents a very interesting fact of how some of his colleagues and even he himself used an online website to
References: Diorio, G. L. (2008). “No Child Left Behind Act of 2001”. Retrieved on November 7, 2012 from: http://ehis.ebscohost.com Henry, P. (2007). “The Case Against Standardized Testing.” Minnesota English Journal. 39-71 Kearns, L. (2011). High stakes Standardized Testing and Marginalized Youth: an Examination of the Effects of on those who Fail Kohn, A. (2000, September 27). “Standardized Testing and Its Victims.” Education Week Mefford, D. (2009, October 01). “Why Was No Child Left Behind a Failure?” EduBook National Council on Disability. (2008). “The No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,” Retrieved on November 7, 2012 from http://www.ncd.gov Rosengarten, D. (2002). “Standing up to standardized tests.” Dollars and Sense, 232: 6 Scholmerich, A., Leyendeker, B., & Citlak, B., Ulrike,C., Jakel,J., (2008). for Elementary and Secondary Education,” Retrieved on November 7, 2012 from: http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/index.html Williams, B