Flaws in Standardized Testing: Critical Analysis

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Should Exams be outlawed in favor of another assignment?

Exams often do little more than measure a person’s ability to take exams.

A test or examination is an assignment intended to measure a test-takes knowledge, skill, aptitude, physical fitness or classification in many other subjects.

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Imagine if failing a test was considered to be a failure for your whole life.

Even though standardized tests can help schools evaluate progress. However, scores do not provide a true picture of a student ability. So therefore it should be outlawed.

Standardized tests are special examinations designed to measure students ’ intellectual competency or academic potential. These tests, which feature strict uniformity concerning content, administration, and scoring, have become a key part of the American education system since they were first introduced in the nineteenth century. Some of the most well-known and widely taken standardized tests include college entrance exams such as the SAT and ACT and licensing exams like the United States Medical Licensing Examination. In addition to offering information on individual students’ abilities, standardized tests provide valuable insight on the overall academic performance of entire student bodies. Such information is frequently used to ensure accountability among schools and teachers . Standardized testing is a controversial subject, however, with critics typically arguing that such testing is too often misleading, ineffective, and even biased. 'Standardized Testing.' Gale Student Resources in Context, Gale, 2017. Student Resources In Context.

Standardized testing is a flawed concept that has many disadvantages.

Standardized testing fails to yield any valuable information about students’ long-term academic growth. Worse yet, pressure to perform well on standardized tests puts an incredible amount of stress on students and teachers alike that only serves to inhibit learning 'Standardized Testing.' Gale Student Resources in Context, Gale, 2017. Student Resources In Context. This shows that standardized testing are ineffective when testing a person’s intelligence because, if you’re taking a test under so much stress and pressure, how is that an effective way to determine how smart you are ? When people are under pressure they do not perform really well, this is scientifically approved. Some kids do well with a certain level of stress. Other students fold. Brain research suggests that too much stress is psychologically and physically harmful. And when stress becomes overwhelming, the brain shifts into a fight or flight response, where it is impossible to engage in the higher-order thinking processes that are necessary to respond correctly to the standardized test questions. So standardized testing is obviously not the way and therefore it should be banned.

Even though standardized tests also tend to be more objective than tests that teachers create and administer directly to their own students. But it fails to yield any valuable information about students’ long-term academic growth. So a test that tend to be more objective that teachers tests also has no impact on a student’s academic “Callahan, R. (1962). Education and the cult of efficiency: A study of the social forces that have shaped the administration of the public schools. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press”. This is definitely not the best way of testing a student’s ability because you wouldn't know if it’s effective if it doesn't have any impact on the students and therefore should be outlawed.

Standardized tests (SAT) are ''incredibly imprecise'' when it comes to measuring academic ability and how well students will perform in college “Study of Standardized Admissions Tests Is Big Draw at College Conference. The New York Times. (Sept. 29, 2008) Lexile Measure: 1460L. COPYRIGHT 2008 The New York Times Company”.

It is not worth it. The SAT teaches children a narrow range of test taking skills, not ones that will prepare them for selective colleges, entrepreneurship or active citizenship. The SAT teaches kids to view reading as a meaningless assignment rather than a source of ideas or inspiration.Tampio, Nicholas. 'Commentary: Time to Ditch the SAT.' The Report, from U.S. News & World Report, 13 Apr. 2018. Student Resources In Context. Well what is the point of the SAT, is it fair to let a test determine whether or not if you should get into college or not, or whether if you’re smart or not ? This just doesn’t make sense and standardized testing needs to be banned.

Standardized achievement tests are deeply flawed, and test-based accountability has been terribly damaging to public education. “The paradox of standardized testing Phi Delta Kappan. (Nov. 2017) Lexile Measure: 1360L. COPYRIGHT 2017 Phi Delta Kappa.”

This is outrageous because some students know that their test scores may affect their future lives so they do whatever they can just to pass them, including cheating and taking performance drugs. It shouldn't have to be like this there are many other ways, standardized testing is not an option so therefore it should be outlawed.

Standardized testing have negative impacts on students mentally by bringing their moral down which could possibly leads to worst. Standardized testing creates winners and losers. The losers are those who get labeled as “ low students, learning disabled kids, reluctant learners.” Even the winners are trapped by being caught up on a treadmill of achievement that they must stay on at all costs through at least sixteen years of schooling, and more often twenty years. The losers suffer loss of self-esteem, and the damage of “low expectations”. The Myth of the ADHD Child: 101 Ways to Improve Your Child's Behavior and Attention Span Without Drugs, Labels, or Coercion (Tarcher-Perigee). Students are already going through so much stress during senior year, more specifically getting into college. So they should not be challenged again that with Standardized test to determine if they’re going to college or not or to lower their self esteem if they have a bad score so Therefore the standardized testing most definitely be banned.

Throughout the text, there was more than enough evidence to prove that standardized testing does not provide a true picture of a student ability and should be outlawed. We went over many effects and disadvantages such as failing to yield any valuable information about students’ long-term academic growth, negative impacts on students mentally by bringing their moral.

So now do you want to do things a different way, try a new method or do you want to keep abusing the future of this country by stressing them out and lowering their self esteem?

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Flaws in Standardized Testing: Critical Analysis. (2022, August 12). Edubirdie. Retrieved December 22, 2024, from https://edubirdie.com/examples/standardized-testing-as-a-flawed-concept-critical-analysis-of-disadvantages/
“Flaws in Standardized Testing: Critical Analysis.” Edubirdie, 12 Aug. 2022, edubirdie.com/examples/standardized-testing-as-a-flawed-concept-critical-analysis-of-disadvantages/
Flaws in Standardized Testing: Critical Analysis. [online]. Available at: <https://edubirdie.com/examples/standardized-testing-as-a-flawed-concept-critical-analysis-of-disadvantages/> [Accessed 22 Dec. 2024].
Flaws in Standardized Testing: Critical Analysis [Internet]. Edubirdie. 2022 Aug 12 [cited 2024 Dec 22]. Available from: https://edubirdie.com/examples/standardized-testing-as-a-flawed-concept-critical-analysis-of-disadvantages/
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