What Are The Flaws Of Standardized Testing

Since being implemented into school curriculum more than fifty years ago, standardized testing has become the most prevalent form of comparing and ranking students across the nation and around the globe. Although standardized testing occurs in the majority of first-world countries around the world, The United States has received the brunt of public criticism for their overuse and excessive difficulty of the tests. Most American students begin state-wide or nation-wide assessments in elementary school and continue all the way through junior high and high school, culminating with perhaps two of the most well-known standardized tests, the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the American College Testing (ACT). The tests can cause severe stress and
anxiety among students, as their graduation from high school and/or college admission is often largely based on the outcome of the assessment. According to author, Alfie Kohn, most experts will agree that basing important decisions, such as graduation, promotion, or college admission, on the results of a single test is wrong and should be condemned (2). While it is beneficial for teachers because they must be more goal-oriented and focused, standardized testing is unfair and should be removed from school systems as it can greatly impact students’ psychological and physical health, it belittles other crucial aspects of school, and it does not take into consideration important non-educational factors that can contribute to a students’ ability to succeed.