Standardized Testing Argument Analysis

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Statistics show the stress of standardized testing on students and how it is effecting the students differently in the classroom. They cannot come to a conclusion on if standardized testing is beneficial or not. One example is a story by Ankur Singh illustrates this problem. She claims that in her AP classes they “focused on college preparation and standardized tests rather than genuine learning” (Strauss, “One Teens Standardized”). She explains that maybe if the student body is against standardized testing then all the students need to stand up for what they believe in and try to get the laws changed. Students claim that they aren’t learning anything and all the students have to do is a read the books that the teachers assign so basically …show more content…
There should be other strategies to watch a students learning and see what the student had learned that year. One side of the argument is for standardized testing and they think it benefits students positively while the other side claims that standardized testing does not benefit the students positively. We believe that standardized testing does not benefit the students in a positive way because some students cannot test and they are being held accountable for it. In a poll, citizens thought that 64% said that there was too much focus on testing while 36% of the other citizens said the best way to assess a student’s learning is not through tests but if students are engaged in the class (Layton, “U.S. Schools”). Some other examples to assess a student’s learning would be grades, student work, and written observations. A very great amount think the best way to improve a teacher’s quality of learning is their education, effective principals, and high academic …show more content…
According to Buck, Jensen, Ritter, and Rose, “articles critical of standardized testing outweigh positive articles by a nine-to-one margin” (24). If it is not effective then why do we still make this part of our core curriculum? Is there another testing curriculum we can change to? Are the students thinking the only way to pass the test is to cheat? According to Saba Bireda “schools in both low and high income communities where students are actually learning are not where teachers are so worried about test scores that they feel forced to cheat” (71). So perhaps focusing on standardized testing might not be what is most important to the students because they aren’t actually learning anything, they are more than likely learning how to cheat and not get caught. The state should be looking towards the students benefit such as support for the students and instruction. Bierda states that “almost everyone in education agrees that this accountability system does not work” (72). In some cases it shows how an SAT score is helpful to the students and how it helps them make better decisions. Gaston Caperton made a statement about the upside to SAT’s, saying, “[d]ecision making has been greatly aided in this age of technology by the availability of accurate data” (78). Passing your SAT can help you tremendously to get into college, so it helps you actually get ready for what college is going to bring you. It shows