Standardized testing is a highly controversial and well debated topic. However, for several reasons the practice of standardized testing is not going away any time soon. With the impending transition to the Common Core State Standards and the use of the associated assessments, you can bet that the practice of standardized testing will continue to be discussed and debated. Both sides of the standardized testing debate have passionate arguments. Here we examine several cons of standardized testing.
Standardized testing evaluates a student’s performance on one particular say and does not take into account external factors. There are many people who simply do not perform well on tests. Many of these students are smart and understand the content, but it doesn’t show on the test. Many students also develop test anxiety which hinders performance. Finally, there are so many external factors that play into test performance. If a student has an argument with their parents the morning of the test, chances are their focus isn’t going to be where it should be.
This practice can hinder a student’s overall learning potential as it causes many teachers to only “teach to the tests”. With the stakes getting higher and higher for teachers, this practice will only continue to increase. The sad reality is that it fosters an atmosphere that is boring and lacks creativeness. Teachers have such pressure to get their students ready for these exams that they neglect to teach students skills that go beyond the tests.
It can also create a lot of stress on both educators and students. Excellent teachers quit the profession every day because of how much stress is on them to prepare students to perform on standardized tests. Students especially feel the stress when there is something meaningful tied to them. In Oklahoma, high school students must pass four standardized tests in various areas or they do not earn a diploma, even if their GPA was a 4.00. The stress this can cause on a teenager is not healthy in any way.
Additionally, many people say that though the answers are checked by computers, but their inception they are made by a teacher who may be from a white or black population. So, what if the questions are made according to the teaching styles of a particular state? Won’t that lead to a bias? It has been found that racial minorities have not been able to perform well in standardized tests. However, it has been found in the U.S. that Asian origin students have performed better in standardized tests. So, this argument remains a vague perception.
Passage A: Cons of Standardized Testing
Passage B: Test Problems: Reasons Why Standardized Tests Are Not Working