Students work on a test in a Conestoga Valley High School classroom. Photo Credit: Luke Needham
By Luke Needham ‘24
The worst days of school are the days you go in knowing a standardized test is awaiting your arrival. You walk into class after getting a horrible night’s rest and accept your fate of staring at this test for the next four hours. Standardized tests in the classroom should be abolished since they do not show a true level of learning and limit time to learn other subjects.
Standardized testing has been federally required since 2002 when George W. Bush implemented the “No Child Left Behind Act.” This act, however, was updated once by its successor, the 2015 “Every Student Succeeds Act” and hasn’t been touched since. The addition of modifications to this document is necessary to meet the demands of the present day.
Additionally, these tests, such as the SAT and ACT, only offer a measurement of core subjects such as math and English Language Arts. Simply using these two subjects neglects the attributes of far too many students. These tests have also been proven to be unfair to students who struggle with formal tests. According to Education Week, factors such as “mood, health, and home life,” also play a huge role in determining how a student performs on one of these tests.
Furthermore, Education Advanced quotes a study by Brookings on the effectiveness of standardized tests: “up to 80% of test score gains might have little to do with long-term learning improvements.” This is because in order to keep it fair, students must all take the same test; however, many can figure out patterns or simply guess in order to improve their scores. Scores on these tests will not provide accurate measurements of the quality of students’ intelligence due to predictability and repetition.
As mentioned before, math and ELA are the main and often only subjects included on required standardized tests. This has made schools that struggle with their test scores to have to limit time on other subjects in order to get their students to pass. The Brookings study found that “between 2001 and 2007 school systems in the US cut the average time spent on social studies, creative subjects, and science by more than 40%.” This was only in the first five years of the laws being put in place, so it can only be assumed that those numbers have gone up.
In these situations it is not right to feed students with only the information the government wants them to have. It is important to teach children subjects that they want to learn and may be good at including science, arts, and social studies. Standardized tests limit quality learning opportunities, do not provide accurate information on the status of students’ learning abilities, and thus should be removed from classroom settings.
Standardized Testing in the Classroom Needs to be Abolished
By Luke Needham ‘24
The worst days of school are the days you go in knowing a standardized test is awaiting your arrival. You walk into class after getting a horrible night’s rest and accept your fate of staring at this test for the next four hours. Standardized tests in the classroom should be abolished since they do not show a true level of learning and limit time to learn other subjects.
Standardized testing has been federally required since 2002 when George W. Bush implemented the “No Child Left Behind Act.” This act, however, was updated once by its successor, the 2015 “Every Student Succeeds Act” and hasn’t been touched since. The addition of modifications to this document is necessary to meet the demands of the present day.
Additionally, these tests, such as the SAT and ACT, only offer a measurement of core subjects such as math and English Language Arts. Simply using these two subjects neglects the attributes of far too many students. These tests have also been proven to be unfair to students who struggle with formal tests. According to Education Week, factors such as “mood, health, and home life,” also play a huge role in determining how a student performs on one of these tests.
Furthermore, Education Advanced quotes a study by Brookings on the effectiveness of standardized tests: “up to 80% of test score gains might have little to do with long-term learning improvements.” This is because in order to keep it fair, students must all take the same test; however, many can figure out patterns or simply guess in order to improve their scores. Scores on these tests will not provide accurate measurements of the quality of students’ intelligence due to predictability and repetition.
As mentioned before, math and ELA are the main and often only subjects included on required standardized tests. This has made schools that struggle with their test scores to have to limit time on other subjects in order to get their students to pass. The Brookings study found that “between 2001 and 2007 school systems in the US cut the average time spent on social studies, creative subjects, and science by more than 40%.” This was only in the first five years of the laws being put in place, so it can only be assumed that those numbers have gone up.
In these situations it is not right to feed students with only the information the government wants them to have. It is important to teach children subjects that they want to learn and may be good at including science, arts, and social studies. Standardized tests limit quality learning opportunities, do not provide accurate information on the status of students’ learning abilities, and thus should be removed from classroom settings.
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