The Pros and Cons of Standardized Tests Michelle Rosales

Problem Statement Standardized tests place enormous amount of pressure on teachers, this causes a “teach to the test” classroom setting.

What does teaching to the test do? Test format is used for teaching Narrows Curriculum Isolated facts are memorized Improves Test Taking Skills What does teaching to the test do?

Research Purpose “The purpose of this research is to understand why standardized testing makes lessons in the classroom unsuccessful.”

Significance of the Study This research is important because standardized tests affect the lessons taught in the classroom. This research speaks for the teachers who teach to the test that require a passing of minimum skills and the students who have a minimum education because of this. While not all classrooms depict this setting, some teacher do have the ability to raise the bar higher, and in doing so their students surpass any basic skills test. These teachers are scarce in the setting I have seen. This research is based on events that I have observed.

How do schools use standardized test? Ability Grouping Learning Disability Diagnoses Retention Assessment Control Curriculum Content and Teaching Methods

Some Positive Aspects Higher income and majority groups Candidates for gifted and talented College preparatory classes Challenging curriculum Helps teacher determine what to teach which helps manage time Helps parents determine how their kids perform compared to students across the country

Some Negative Aspects Low Income and minority groups high candidates for retention given a “watered down” curriculum pressure to raise scores decrease time spent in recess which impact on children’s social, emotional, and academic well-being stress on students can lead to negative health consequences as well as feelings of negativity

A Brief History The earliest record of standardized testing comes from China. Hopefuls for government jobs had to fill out examinations testing their knowledge of Confucian philosophy and poetry. Standardized tests have been used to evaluate America's schools since 1965, when the U.S. Elementary and Secondary Education Act became law..

How else can we evaluate? Good observational checklists used by trained teachers Assessment based student performances on real learning tasks Trained teams of judges can rate performance using “inter-rater reliability”

Do other countries evaluate their students? The U.S. is the only economically advanced nation to rely heavily on multiple-choice tests. Other nations use performance-based assessment where students are evaluated on the basis of real work such as essays, projects and activities. Ironically, because these nations do not focus on teaching to multiple-choice tests, they even score higher than U.S. students on those kinds of tests.

Any solution in sight? Learn all you can about the fundamentals of these types of tests. Take into account the pros and cons that standardize testing can build. Until the NCLB law is evaluated and changed the answer is not just quite yet. No Child Left Behind Law, every student from third to eighth grade and one high school grade must take state tests. That is about 45 million tests to be graded annually.

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