The Standardized Testing Nightmare Essay examples

As children grow up some of their frightful memories include a visit to the dentist or to the first day in elementary school. Perhaps their greatest nightmare is standardized testing. Since starting school as first graders students are taught to test in the United States. In many cases students are placed in remedial classes or even held back because of their low grades. Many do not realize that the students with low grades are mainly students who are not good test takers, and educators start to believe that these students are low achievers. When educators do this, it leads the students to have lower self-esteem and encourages them to drop out of school later on. Students are also forced to memorize information merely as facts†¦show more content†¦Under No Child Left Behind, standards and assessments rest tightly at the national education policy, and remain as the strongest force on policy and practice. Despite the importance of high-stakes testing to improve Americaâ €™s public education system, there have been numerous effects on schools, teachers, and even the students. Facing the pressure of standardized tests, students try to cram too much information in a short period of time. The memory capacity decreases from the stress of the one high-pressure test that can decide whether they well get held back and redo the entire year over. When a student receive poor test results, this may also make them feel insecure about their intelligence and encourage them to give up and possibly drop out of school later on. It is evident that many students have weakened their ability to think creatively, in the United States. Christopher Longo states that Inquiry-based science instruction has led the way in assisting students in the process of discovering knowledge for themselves instead of simply being asked to recall information. Inquiry learning promotes creativity by increasing motivation, wonderment, and curiosity. The author proposes that inquir y is the key to enhancing creativity, while still meeting the demands of standardize testing. (Longo) Inquiry based learning is a form of teaching which involves the teacher as a guide on the side. InShow MoreRelatedSuccess Is The Sum Of All Efforts, Repeated Day And Day Out By Robert Collier958 Words   |  4 PagesMany educational opportunities are based on a student s standardized testing scores and how well the student performs, but the thing that matters most is not standardized testing, its the student’s day to day performance and activities. Standardized testing defeats the purpose of knowledge and focuses on the scores neglecting the material. Standardized testing is an organized and accurate way to measure a student’s intelligence. â€Å"Standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT have been shown to be effectiveRead MoreWhy Class Test Are Not Effectively Working937 Words   |  4 PagesSince the 1800’s, standardized testing has been a part of our American Education system as a way to measure our student’s academic achievement. In 2002, the George W. Bush era, No Child Left Behind Act had mandated standardized testing be implemented in all of 50 states across the country. Since this act has been implemented, the rankings of United States for math had slipped fallen from 18th in the world, to now a ranking of a meager 31st place as of 2009. Schools use standardized tests to determineRead MoreThe Importance Of Standardized Testing In Education1140 Words   |  5 PagesThe standardized test has become the staple of the United States K12 education system. Students at all levels are routinely tested, and schools evaluated based on the scores. It’s easy to look at this as a necessary part of the system, a needed way of assessing both school and individual student performance to ensure quality across all schools. These tests are regarded as a tried-and true way of doing this, when in reality they are neither old nor accurate in assessment. I move in this essay thatRead MoreWhy Is Americas Education System Failing1202 Words   |  5 PagesOrganization for Economic Co-operation and Development, it ranks just fourteenth in reading, seventeenth in science and twenty-fifth in math (Walker). Despite Americas status as a country, Americas education is failing because of the large emphasis on standardized education, and the flaws of the students, parents, and teachers. How to fix the education system remains to be a problem. Impoverished children are partially at fault for the failing education system in America. Poor children are ranked wellRead MoreGloria Anzaldua And Amy Tan1120 Words   |  5 Pagesallowed her to put those ugly comments and actions aside to grow into the person she is today. Amy Tan’s article â€Å"Mother Tongue,† also focuses on the discrimination against her efforts to speak and write English. Amy Tan emphasizes the topics of standardized testing and discrimination within schools that go against those who are not native in this country. Despite both of these ladies being from two completely different cultures, they both still share similar stories. After reading both Gloria AnzalduaRead MoreStandardized Testing Is An Important Part Of Our Modern Education Essay1752 Words   |  8 PagesStandardized tests are part of every student’s life but not for a good reason. These tests haunt students in their sleep and give them a nightmare. To understand what I am writing just study your kid on the week of standardized tests. One can see the fear, anxiety and helpless in their eyes. Standardized testing has become an important part of our modern education. There is not an American student who doesn’t sit down these test many times a year in their educational journey. These tested are heavilyRead More Considering All the Facts: Mistakes About Standardized Tests2752 Words   |  12 PagesMistakes About Standardized Tests There has been a lot of talk about standards for schools. Politicians have made this issue a campaign debate. Now everyone has jumped on the â€Å"bandwagon† and wants accountability of students’ education (Shafer, 2002). When there is a problem in the education system, teachers are the first to be blamed. They are left with the responsibility of proving they are teaching what needs to be taught. States as well as the federal government use standardized testing to assessRead More The Failure of Standardized Testing Essay1991 Words   |  8 Pageslabeled as failing (Ravitch web). Because of those factors, heavy emphases on standardized tests were put in place in schools across the United States. The No Child Left Behind Act’s use of standardized testing negatively affects schools by pressuring schools to change curriculum, cheat to attain better scores, and by making children ill-prepared for higher education. Schools changing curriculum to cater to the testing requirements is one way the No Child Left Behind Act negatively affects schoolsRead More No Child Left Behind is Beneficial Essay2508 Words   |  11 Pagescourse of rallying the National Governor’s Convention with legislation entitled Goals 2000: Educate America Act. This act was the start of countrywide testing in reading and math to demonstrate responsibility for public education. At the same time, the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) was put out by a congressionally funded testing service, showing that reading scores amid the nation’s fourth graders was going down (Reutzel, 2009). And consequently began the downfall of literacyRead MoreThe Overachievers, by Alexandra Robbins Essay2319 Words   |  10 Pagesestablishing testing days, which do not always work. Some teachers feel that their time is important and they have to create their own schedules, rather than succumbing to the administration . They forget that kids have more than just their class to worry about (Robbins). Multiply this by three or four teachers, and high school turns into a nightmare. With all of this hype about overachievers, society has to figure out a way to conclude who is number one. This is where standardized testing comes into