Arguments Against Standardized Testing Research

Words: 1691
Pages: 7

Students in a High School classroom feel pressure as their teacher instructs them about the multiple information they will be tested on through standardized exams. Many students have stayed up for hours the night before, preparing and studying for these tests that will ultimately decide the future of their education. Students are forced to learn about how standardized tests are given, taking away time from teaching the curriculum they should be learning. Schools across the United States participate in standardized testing, whether it be national or state assessments. These tests, such as the American College Testing (ACT) and SAT, are used to judge a student’s knowledge of subjects based on questions given in 30-45 minutes or less. A student’s …show more content…
This anti-test taking movement reached its peak in 2014 when protestors reached their limits on state mandated graduation exams (Neill 1). Thousands of students across the United States have opted-out of taking federally mandated tests with parent consent. In New York, 60,000 students in grades 3-8 refused to take federally mandated tests. Teachers in Chicago and New York boycotted to schools and some students even walked out upon having to take standardized tests. More than 1,000 students opted out of standardized testing in Chicago, Il and Colorado (1). Anti-standardized testing activists make themselves known through social media by promoting the ineffectiveness of standardized tests. They try to communicate to the public their views of the ineffectiveness standardized testing possess and the ways to help their children with these exams. Anti-standardized protests draw the most attention to the media making people realize just how big of an issue standardized testing is to students and schools. One national standardized test called the PARCC test (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) had highest refusal rates at more than 40% (Strauss