The Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing

How is Standardize Testing Ruining Our Schools?
Is standardize testing ruining the future of the next generation? Are children getting the education they deserve? The stakes are too high when it comes to tests. Often times students put all their efforts into a class yet fall short on the standardize test that grade the level they should be placed. Teachers have to cater to these tests creating a stressful classroom environment, instead of an environment of creativity and expressive learning. These tests don’t take into account that students have different learning styles. Sadly, unreliable standardize testing because of the “No Child Left Behind” policy is creating havoc4 to classroom learning and unnecessary stress among students and teachers.
A study in 2001, from the Brooking Institution saw that 50 - 80% of yearly test scores improvements were short- term ("Is the use of standardized testing ruining schools” Article 1). This study shows how standardized testing interferes with grade point averages. Testing shows only 30% of the real educational picture and yet is still used as a main resource. According to Gerald W. Bracey PhD, testing doesn’t include creativity, critical thinking, resilience, motivation, persistence, enthusiasm, empathy (http://standardizedtests.procon.org/). How is one to judge a whole person on a few sheets of paper? One other example is some teachers are now “teaching the test,” resulting in a lack of freedom to express a creative spirit of learning in a classroom, rather than actually teaching a subject thoroughly. As it says in greatschools.org, teaching the test depends on the subject, however “if the test is not directly related to what is being taught or teachers depend on repeated drills with old test questions to prepare students, it's a different story”
It is when a teacher can be expressive and fun that true learning occurs. Testing like this creates more busy work and less Dead Poet Society teaching that makes learning fun and exciting. Is it a coincidence that homeschoolers score higher when taking their mandatory testing at the end of the year. They are not learning for the tests, but learn for the sake of opening their minds. When schools are not judged by standardize tests and teachers are allowed to really enjoy teaching, magic occurs in the classroom. According to education researcher Gregory J, “testing produces gipping anxiety, making young children vomit or cry, even of the brightest of students” (http://standardizedtests.procon.org/). This proves that school testing is torture for all