High Stakes Testing Argument

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Pages: 1

I do think we as a profession place too much importance on high stakes testing, but our hands are tied with how much power as teachers we have. I understand the convenience of high stakes testing when it comes to evaluating all the children in the country as a whole. But with such a focal point on the students' success on these exams, we are essentially not teaching the students to learn, but to memorize what is being asked of them. I think that as the students' teachers, we should be the ones with the final say to determine whether the students have mastered the material or not. Who are the officials who have never stepped a foot into your classroom suppose to declare that your students are proficient or not; apparently that is the