Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing: Essay Tips

Standardized tests have become an essential part of American education since the mid of 1800s. As it is completely a different issue, so we need both internal and external assessments to measure the progress of students.

Although evaluations are very helpful in measuring the quality of teaching and learning. These tests are harmful when used to judge student’s natural abilities, and educators are put under pressure.

Students should always arrange assessment tests to get an idea about the success of their children.

Standardized Testing-a Debatable Topic:

There are only a few topics in the world of education, and standardized testing is the most debatable one of all. Is it essential? Does it equally reflect on the curriculum for each grade student?

In this article, we are going to discuss the most common cited the pros and cons of standardized testing. Parents and teachers alike question the validity and accuracy of standardized testing for students with diverse learning styles and having socioeconomic backgrounds.

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Pros of Standardized Testing:

Although everyone agrees to the benefits of standardized testing. Here are a few positive aspects of standardized testing.

• An essential component of the US educational system
• Hold teachers and students accountable
• Parents get more information about the progress of their student
• Accepted set of standards
• Provide information regarding new learning methods
• Allow overseas to determine the effectiveness of the educational system
• Encourages students to work together

An Essential Component of the US Educational System:

Education in the USA has included standardized testing as an essential tool since the mid of 1800s. The programs such as ACT or GRT are also beneficial in determining the placement in advanced educational institutions.

With the increasing advancement in the field of technology, their use has become more prevalent in all 50 states within the US.

Hold Teachers and Students Accountable:

Scores on standardized testing also have become an essential part of public records. If a student is not performing well, then these gaps can be easily identified, and adjustments need to be made to the process of learning methods.

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Likewise, if a teacher is underperforming adjustments can be made quickly. Students are also checked through this process which helps to find out management issues that lower the quality of education. 

Parents Get More Information about the Progress of Their Student:

Information provided by standardized tests enables parents to look carefully at how their children are performing through percentile rating. 

If a student gets 90 per cent in mathematics, then their parents know that their children are performing better as compared to other peers. Parents also keep track of the latest educational opportunities available in their state or region.

Provide Information Regarding New Learning Methods:

Standardized testing provides a set of new rules to improve the structure, the teaching, and activities in schools. Moreover, special programs are introduced to improve the learning standards for bright students. The main goal in doing so is to raise the test scores that students and teachers are capable of achieving.

Encourages Students to Work Together:

The standardized testing approach also sets a local competition among the students. They work hard day and night to turn their goals into reality. The scores that they can achieve become a sense of pride.

This is especially true in the case of god gifted and talented students who can regularly score in top percentiles according to their grade level.

Accepted Set of Standards:

While if a student shifts to other school districts, their learning methods and techniques are not going to change gradually because of standardized testing.

Every student learning capability is measured using the same standards. This also means that teachers at every grade level have almost the same teaching curricula no matter where they are residing.

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Cons of Standardized Testing:

There is no doubt that standardized testing is a helpful tool, but it is also restricted to teachers and students in practice. Here are a few negative impacts of standardized testing.

• Provides students with one-day evaluation
• The teaching method of teachers is different
• Potential to create teaching gaps
• Struggle to evaluate student’s growth
• Creates questions and answers having their subjectivity
• Funding depends on student rate of scoring
• Destroy the self-esteem of students
• Causes the students to abandon their profession

Provides Students with One-day Evaluation:

If a student feels dizzy in the morning and can’t perform well in their standard tests, then they need to work hard for standard testing. In many cases, it has been observed that some students take anxiety about their test, which directly affects their performance.

This means that a standardized test is not always a reflection of the student’s intelligence.

The Teaching Method of Teachers Is Different:

Because the student’s evaluation made by teachers is based on standardized testing, which is entirely different from the traditional classroom method?

Instead of teaching advanced skills to students, they restrict them to only subject-based learning. This, in turn, removes creativity that can be practised in classrooms.

Potential to Create Teaching Gaps:

Because teachers are hyper forced on their test results, students are being identified based on how well they perform. In this way, talented students get little attention from their teachers as they tend towards poor students.

This limits the learning potential of god gifted students who can take benefit from advanced skill training.

Struggle to Evaluate Student’s Growth:

Standardized testing is introduced to determine how proficient student is at the time of taking the test. It evaluates hard student work based on their progress in a standard test.

Destroy the Self-esteem of Students:

Teachers approach school as a job or necessity to earn a better living. In the case of poor standardized testing conducted by teachers, students are capable of working less on their abilities and performance.

A low grade leads to summer coaching, and the idea of summer vacations is ruined. In this way, they destroy the self-esteem of students. 

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Moreover, in many school districts, the amount of funding they are going to receive is dependent on scores of standardized testing. This put pressure on teachers and led them towards competition with other educator teachers.

Conclusion:

Hence standardized testing can create an excess of invaluable information. It also enables teachers on how to teach and when to teach it. If we put more focus on individually teaching every student, we are going to get more benefits from this type of testing.