Standardized Testing In Schools

The term standardized testing is used quite often in today’s society. But, what makes a standardized test a standardized test? There are a few characteristics that a test must have to be considered a standardized test. Some of the things, according to the book “Standardized Testing in Schools” by Holly Dolezalek include, that everyone who takes the test must receive the same set of questions, the test takers must take the test in the same conditions, they get the same instructions and have the same amount of time, and they must be graded the same way. Standardized testing affects students from the time they enter elementary school, all the way through college. This means that standardized tests affect everyone, principals, teachers, students, …show more content…
Alfie Kohn goes as far to say, “Standardized testing has swelled and mutated, like a creature in one of those old horror movies, to the point that it now threatens to swallow our schools whole” in his book The case against standardized testing: raising the scores, ruining the schools. He is saying that testing has threatened to take over the schools, which is correct. When going into a primary school, especially near the end of the year, all you hear is talk about standardized tests. You would think that if people have been concerned with the effects of standardized testing on children in the past, that the schools would have started to reject the testing too. But, I think to a point they have, it is very rare to go to a school and find a teacher or administrator that are thrilled about testing. With that being said, teachers and administrators can not reject standardized tests though. This is because these tests are government mandated, if the teachers and administrators want jobs, they have to teach and prepare students for these test. But when talking to teachers in a local elementary school, they said that the feel as though education has pulled away from what it used to be and now solely focuses on these tests. With the test scores hanging over the teacher's head, it hard for them to think about much else. Many would say that these tests take away from teaching other more important life lessons, that the teachers would rather just teach the students how they know they can and not have to worry about standardized testing. Not only do these tests affect the teachers and administrators of schools, but they also affect the students. The students all hear about how they need to do well on the end of the year tests and that many things depend on this grade. A great amount of stress is placed on these children at such a young age,

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