Standardized tests have been implemented on students since the time of the Civil war, but are not proven to be beneficial to the students that take them. Students today take timed tests such as the ACT and SAT to determine where they will and will not be able to attend college. These tests help schools determine how well students are absorbing the material being taught and compare scores with other schools, but there are some issues that go along with them such as high amounts of pressure on young students, test anxiety, and inaccurate means of measuring intelligence. Standardized tests should be abandoned because they create “cookie cutter” curriculums that do not meet the needs of every student, benefit the testing companies more so than…show more content… In a PBS article by Kimberly Hefling, she wrote “that students take an average of 113 standardized tests between pre-K and 12th grade. It said testing time for 11th graders was as high as 27 days, or 15 percent of the school year.” Every student is unique and has different strengths and weaknesses. When the entire curriculum is being taught around information that will be on large tests, other equally important information such as how to maintain strong relationships with others and communicate their feelings or how to build self confidence are not even considered things that should be taught in school. There are a number of classes that are already embedded into common curriculum such as art, music, dance, and woodshop, but standardized tests cannot measure how well students are doing in these classes. This emphasizes to students that if they are talented in these extra curricular classes, it does is not that important unless they have mastered the skills of the common core classes as well. Each student has different needs, and if schools are only catering to those who need help in math and science and ignoring those who need help maintaining healthy friendships and communicating, bullying and similar problems will remain an
