Everyone learns differently, whether in a classroom or work environment. Some people learn through hands-on exercises, others from reading to themselves, and some in group settings while others prefer to work alone. People also vary in how they perform. Some are good test takers, others are not. Good test takers don’t even need to study for a test and they get an A, simply because they are good at it. If you are like me, tests are your worst nightmare. I would much rather write a paper, or present to a classroom than take a test. The school system does not account for these differences. Standardized testing is viewed as a way to measure knowledge of content and intelligence. However, I think standardized testing should not determine intelligence.
1. Standardized testing sets certain students up to fail.
Most standardized tests are timed, which is unfair for each individual student. Some students read faster and think faster than others, and it harms slower readers. Being a slow reader does not mean they do not know the information, it just takes them longer to read a question than others and it hurts them. The slow readers miss 10 questions on the test, simply because of lack of time. If these students did not have a time limit, they could have had the possibility to score higher on the test and answer questions they ran out of time on. Why exactly is there a time limit for each content section? Because testing providers want there to be a fluctuation in students. It is not meant for every student to have an equal opportunity to pass or score higher. They want certain students to excel and some to fail.
2. The same test is distributed across the United States.
Although this is a great idea in theory, it is not practical. Not every school district has the same resources, staff, and material. Depending on the location of the school, funding makes a big difference. A school in an inner-city downtown area will not have the same education and resources as a school in the suburbs. Naturally students who live in nicer areas have a better chance of scoring higher on these tests compared to students who live in the inner-city. Every student should be able to have an equal opportunity to succeed.
3. Tests do not measure other activities.
A test score portrays knowledge in math, English, science and social studies. However, students have so much more to bring to the table. Tests cannot measure passion, creativity, work ethic, personalities, skills, and talent and the list could continue.Tests are supposed to determine intelligence, but simply only knowing the core subjects would not make one intelligent. Intelligence includes a lot of aspects a test cannot measure.
Standardized testing takes up almost 40 percent of a child’s education. Teachers have to spend more time teaching students material on the test, and how to take a standardized test instead of teaching other important topics. People get upset that art and theater are being taken away from schools, and it hurts students in the long run. Taking away so many standardized tests would allow more time for art and theater classes. Even teachers are evaluated almost 50 percent based on a test score. A test score also does not include that a student went to bed hungry that night and came to school without any food, and the student comes to school at 8 a.m. starting off by taking a test. Outside factors can influence student outcomes on tests. Standardized testing is slowly hurting the school system, and should not be such a prevalent evaluation tool.
