Standardized Testing in Schools

standardised psychometric examines atomic number 18 administered in every last(predicate)(prenominal) shoals crosswise the U. S. in lieu of the basal and Secondary bringing up function of 1965 and the No tiddler leave Behind form of 2001. According to these laws, drills pass to administer regularize tests to qualify for conglomerate types of licensing and harmonizes. For instance, a occurrent percentage of the students in public schools mustiness ex ex extend the regularize tests to be allowed supplyeral support and funding for that particular school. If the results of the similar tests be non at par, the school does non get funding.At the equivalent time, many students present to aim senior high school-stakes similar tests to get into various colleges/universities of their choice. If the students do non do rise on much(prenominal)(prenominal) tests, they ar denied admissions. The thing to note head-nigh these exchangeable tests is that they ar not tried and they contain various biases in them. many a(prenominal) battalion defy criticized how such tests do not contain relevant study that cook up be found in the course broadcast and they test students on impractical directs. Others believe that standardise tests try results based on very roughly parameters that do not reflect the students substantive intelligence.Looking at the various researches and opinions of critics, we cons full-strength that order interrogatory is not an in force(p) handbill of gauging students intelligence, and they should not be apply in schools. For example, bingle of the unsoundgest reasons convertible test is not stiff is because of the subjectivity that dirty dog be found in such tests. For instance, Williams (2005) speaks of how many of the standardise tests be gauged by computers. These computers look at the auditions input and they impart the results after running certain algorithms that measure certain aspects of the essay, such as structure.Williams (2005) presents a very interesting fact of how some of his colleagues and heretofore he himself used an online website to pay essays closely a subject and fed that into the exam machine. The essay that was generated was completely gibberish but was constructed worthyly according to the rules of grammar. For instance, the essay was supposed to be about standardized scrutiny, but it speaks of how goernmental officials and monarchs use the system. The testing machine, however, said that the essay was very well written. This is because the essay followed rules of grammar impeccably, even though it did not puzzle out any sense.This shows how standardized testing chamberpot be extremely in incumbranceive, as they atomic number 18 mostly macrocosm gauged by computers that assess their structure and not their contents. an some other(prenominal)(prenominal) problem with standardized tests is that they do not take into account the syllabu s that students call for all year run through in their classroom curriculum (Rosengarten, 2002). This authority that it makes what children are being taught in classrooms as being useless. peasantren are taught a different syllabus in class, and they are expected to deposit for a test that tests them on other criteria.This causes two problems one, that the children are being disposed two different types of education, and two, educateers are not sure what to teach their children. They must teach the children the regular coursework, however, they in addition must make sure that the children pass the standardized test so that they can receive the federal official funding and grant, as per the No chela Left Behind identification number. some wad have criticized this act. According to his act, each school must administer standardized tests to its students so that all schools can be gauged on a similar platform (United States plane section of Education, 2001).If the students attain a certain level of tag on these tests, the public schools are given the federal funding and grant however, if the school fails, the grants are withdrawn (Diorio, 2008). This is why most of the schools pressure their teachers to deposit the students in such a way so that they ace the standardized tests (Smyth, 2008). This can be problematic. other problem with standardized testing is that when teachers prepare the students for the standardized tests, they neglect and brush aside the subjects that the students will not be well-tried on.For example, most of the standardized tests focus on mathematics and English skills much. This is why to table service students pass the standardized tests, teachers pay more than than attention to these subjects and other subjects, such as science, humanities, history, and art are ignored. Children are getting a skew education that is made-to-order to fulfill the federal mandate. Moreover, as mention earlier, most of the standardiz ed tests test students on knowledge that is not part of their syllabus.This results in teachers preparing the students to take the test and do well at it, alternatively of providing a equal form of education that benefits students crossways all the different subjects. This also means that students can effectively remain lazy and not study all year round and only prepare themselves to take the standardized tests at the end of year to pass their grades. This is also not good, as the students are not being given the proper way of being educated, which should be logical all year round and not focused on passing one test at the end of the year.Furthermore, standardized tests are also not effective because they contain various biases (Se Queda, 2011). This is because the standardized tests are designed to be administered to a freehanded population that has to take the said(prenominal)(p) test. whole the students are considerd to answer the test in the alike manner. This can be pro blematic, as the U. S. has a very respective(a) student population from various social, cultural, and pagan backgrounds (Scholmerich et al, 2008). Placing them all on the same level and playing field is giving return to some of the students while making it more difficult for others.For instance, children from different parts of the unsophisticated would have different doctors of skills. For example, a child raised in a big city, such as New York City, would have completely different mindset and set of skills than a child who was raised in a small town, such as Fort Pierce, Florida. This has to do with cultural kinetics and the way that children are taught, treated, and raised in different surroundings. Each of these children would respond in different ways to various educational questions because of their differences in the way that they were raised. regulate tests do not account for such differences, as the same test is administered in the same manner for all students. At the same time, children with disabilities, e. g. blind children, are also mandated to take standardized test under Individuals with Disabilities Education puzzle out (IDEA). In such cases, the questions are read out aloud to the children and they have to speak out their answers (National Council on Disability, 2008). However, the No Child Left Behind Act ignores the blind children and gives them a null score Mefford, 2009) since they cannot read, which means that the standardized tests are skewed and aslope. Additionally, many critics have voiced their concerns over how standardized tests should not be allowed because they are unfair. Such critics talk about how the questions require a set of knowledge and skills more likely to be possessed by children from a privileged background. The discriminatory effect is particularly pronounced with norm-referenced tests, where the imperative to outflank out the scads often produces questions that faucet knowledge gained outside of school (K ohn, 2000).At the same time, since the standardized tests contain various patterns that students can be taught, various parents can help their children get the proper supply so that they can pass these tests. This means that the rich and better off people tend to have the ability to give their children with private tuitions, helping them prepare special(prenominal)ally for the standardized tests so that they can do well. This is another bias that can be seen in the standardized tests, as those who are able to move over to get specific education and preparation for the standardized tests are able to get better pull ahead.This goes against the true reasons for the standardized tests, which is to gauge the students equally across the same platform. Clearly, the rich have an advantage, as they can afford to be specifically prepared for the test, giving them better scores not because they are more bright but because they could pay enough currency to tailor their preparation exactl y for the test. Another reason standardized tests are uneffective is because they tend to measure superficial thought rather than the deep mentation of the students.Many scholars have indicated the difference between progressive thought process and superficial cerebration, in that sprightly thinking occurs when students ask many questions about their course, coming up with questions themselves and then linking their current coursework with what they have learned in the past. dilettante thinking occurs when students tend to copy down the answers, do a large list of guesswork and do not debate on the more difficult aspects of the curriculum. inquiry has shown that students who get higher scores on their standardized tests are normally those that pimp more in superficial thinking rather than active thinking.Even though some of the students who indulged in active thinking were also able to get high scores, the correlation between superficial thinking and high scores on stand ardized test is a positive one. This is another reason standardized tests can be seen as being ineffective, as they tend to measure the wrong kind of things kind of of measuring the students who do active thinking, they regard superficial thinking, which is not good. Thus, we find that standardized tests are ineffective for many reasons. Standardized tests test students on a set of knowledge and skills that they are not usually taught in their coursework.This is why many of the teachers tend to teach students how to pass standardized tests sort of of teaching them the proper syllabus. To do this, the teachers have to cut down on other subjects, such as art, and sometimes even take the recess time from the childrens daily timetable. Students can also yield because many subjects that are not pay attention to help children in build their moral and social learning. At the same time, standardized tests tend to be biased against certain portions of the society, as some students are able to do well on them because of their social backgrounds.Children belonging to rich parents also benefit, as they are able to afford tuition and materials that have been designed to prepare them specifically to get good scores on standardized tests. Finally, it has been found that standardized tests measure superficial thinking more than active thinking. All of these reasons depict why standardized testing is wrong and that it should be replaced with other forms of testing that are more homogenized and work to test the students across relevant parameters.ReferencesDiorio, G. L. (2008). No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Retrieved on November 7, 2012 from http//ehis.ebscohost.com Henry, P. (2007). The fount Against Standardized Testing. Minnesota English Journal. 39-71. Retrieved on November 7, 2012 from http//www.mcte.org/journal/mej07/3Henry.pdf Kearns, L. (2011). High stakes Standardized Testing and Marginalized Youth an Examination of the do of on those who Fail. Canadian Jou rnal of Education, 34(2). Kohn, A. (2000, family 27). Standardized Testing and Its Victims. Education Week. Retrieved on November 7, 2012 from http//www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/edweek/staiv.htm Mefford, D. (2009, October 01). Why Was No Child Left Behind a ruin? EduBook. Retrieved on November 7, 2012 from http//www.edubook.com/why-was-no-child-left- scum bag-a-failure/15467/ National Council on Disability. (2008). The No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Retrieved on November 7, 2012 from http//www.ncd.gov Rosengarten, D. (2002). Standing up to standardized tests. Dollars and Sense, 232 6 Scholmerich, A., Leyendeker, B., & Citlak, B., Ulrike,C., Jakel,J., (2008). Assessment of migratory and Minority Children. Journal of Psychology, 216 Se Queda, m. (2011, February). Biases in Standardized testing. Persephone Magazine retrieved October 26.2012Smyth, T. S. (2008, January/February). Who is No Child Left Behind leaving behind? Clearing House, 81 , (3). United States Department of Education. (2001). No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 for Elementary and Secondary Education, Retrieved on November 7, 2012 from http//www2.ed.gov/ insurance policy/elsec/leg/esea02/index.html Williams, B. (2005). Standardized students The problems with writing for tests instead of people. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 49, (2) 155.