“If the purpose for learning is to score well on a test, we’ve lost sight of the real reason of learning (Jeannie Fulbright).” The purpose of Standardized Tests is to test a student’s knowledge, then compare their scores to others who are the same age and grade level. The students are then told if they are above the standard, below, or right where they are supposed to be, but there are problems with Standardized Tests. Standardized Tests are not useful in America because they aren’t a reliable measure of a student’s performance, they don’t improve a student’s achievement, and Standardized Tests have limited subjects.

First of all, Standardized Tests are not useful in America because they aren’t a reliable measure of a student’s performance. For example, “The substantial size of the content domain that a standardized achievement test is supposed to represent poses genuine difficulties for the developers of such tests. If a test actually covered all the knowledge and skills in the domain, it would be far too long” (Popham). This states that there is too much information to be tested on a Standardized Test. This means Standardized Tests are only testing kids on part of what they learned, causing them to be an unreliable measure of a student’s performance. These tests are also only testing students on a certain amount of information they are learning. For instance, “The researchers identified the items in the standardized achievement test that had not received meaningful instructional attention in the textbooks. They concluded that between 50 and 80 percent of what was measured on the tests was not suitably addressed in the textbooks” (Popham).  Researchers found out that 50 and 80 percent of the questions on the tests weren’t addressed in the textbooks, causing the students to score lower because they haven’t learned the information yet. Standardized Tests also don’t have the technology to accurately test the student’s on their achievement. Such as, “There are more problems associated with the impact of Standardized Testing on ‘achievement’ than simply the fact that the technology of the testing cannot efficiently and accurately measure some vitally important attributes that we all want our children to ‘achieve’” (Strauss). This shows that Standardized Tests don’t have the technology to accurately measure a student’s achievement. When a student answers only the 40 questions in a section of the test, the student shouldn’t be told that they are either good or bad at math because of those 40 questions, but someone can tell by their progress throughout the school year. Standardized Tests aren’t measuring a student's achievement because they aren’t testing students on what they learn in textbooks, and there is way too much information to test a student’s knowledge that it can’t be put into one test.

Secondly, Standardized Tests don’t improve a student’s achievement. For example, “they found overall that even though some schools successfully raised their students' scores on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System state test, that improvement was not associated with an increase in what's known as the students' fluid intelligence. Those skills are described as fluid because they require using logical thinking and problem-solving in novel situations, rather than recalling previously learned facts and skills” (Bidwell). This states that Standardized Tests are just testing kids on their knowledge of memory and re-writing facts. Tests should be testing students of their fluid intelligence, which are the skills of logical thinking and problem-solving. Since Standardized Tests aren’t testing a student’s fluid knowledge, but more of their memory, Standardized Tests aren’t improving a student’s intelligence. Also, “as psychometrician Daniel Koretz puts it, scores on a Standardized Test ‘usually do not provide a direct and complete measure of educational achievement.’ ... Tests can measure only a portion of the goals of education, which are necessarily broader and more inclusive than the tests could possibly be” (Strauss). This fact states that Standardized Tests are only testing students on a certain amount of knowledge. If the Standardized Tests were able to put in all of the information into one test it would be way too long. This causes the tests to be too broad. With a test being too broad it also causes the students to learn little from it, which makes the students or kids who are taking it, to not learn a lot from the test. Last of all, Standardized Tests are lowing the student’s knowledge instead of raising it. According to Alfie Kohn, "The controlling, `top-down' push for higher standards may actually produce a lower quality of education, precisely because its tactics constrict the means by which teachers most successfully inspire students' engagement in learning, and commitment to achieve” (Kohn).  This evidence shows that Standardized Tests aren’t improving a student’s achievement, but lowering it. Teachers are putting their main lesson aside and preparing their students for the main tests. When it is the time of year for Standardized Tests, teachers won’t be teaching their students their own way, but by how the tests want them to teach. This hurts the students because they aren’t engaging in an activity to learn, they are reading packets over and over again to recite the information. Tests are supposed to improve a student’s achievement but in reality, they aren’t learning anything from the tests.

Lastly, Standardized Tests have limited subjects. For instance, “The designers of these tests do the best job they can in selecting test items that are likely to measure all of a content area's knowledge and skills that the nation's educators regard as important. But the test developers can't really pull it off. Thus, standardized achievement tests will always contain many items that are not aligned with what's emphasized instructionally in a particular setting” (Popham). This shows that Standardized Tests aren’t including all of the subjects that are taught at school, only the more “important” ones. This is causing Standardized Tests to limit the subjects which the students are tested on. This can sometimes affect the students in a bad way because they aren’t getting tested at everything which could include something they are really good at and have a strong passion for. Therefore, students aren’t seeing if they are really gifted in some areas because the Standardized Tests won’t test them on it. Another example is that there are many other subjects that don’t get tested on because the main subjects have priority. For instance, “According to the National Council of Teachers of English, subjects such as art, social studies, foreign languages, and music have been sidelined, as they are generally not tested on. In this vein, tests like the SATs – which the only test for math and reading – don’t account for students’ strengths in other areas of learning, and only encourage a narrowing of the high school curriculum. These tests should be an evaluation tool for students’ overall intellect instead of only evaluating their test-taking abilities” (Goldring). This fact states that the subjects that are tested on Standardized Tests are mainly math, science, reading, and LA, but other subjects such as art, social studies, foreign languages, and music are underrated and set aside. This causes a problem for students because a lot of students struggle in math and science, but are gifted when it comes to art or other smaller subjects. Therefore, this supports that Standardized Tests have limited subjects. Finally, “ELA teachers could help more students develop these so-called “soft skills” or non-cognitive abilities if they didn’t have to focus on drills for tests. Instead, ELA teachers have to, for instance, cut back on large-scale projects that require perseverance, reduce the number of literary texts that engender the empathy necessary to sociability, and limit opportunities for developing student curiosity. Student learning that could lead to positive directions is diminished when tests prevent teachers from helping students develop the noncognitive abilities that support better life outcomes” (How). This last piece of evidence shows that students aren't getting the practice they need for “soft skills”, which include sociability and student curiosity because they have to practice for the Standardized Tests. For example, ELA teachers have to do drills for the test to make sure their students do well on it when they could be helping their students with the life skills and abilities which will “support better life outcomes.” Standardized Tests are supposed to improve a student’s knowledge, but if they have limiting subjects they aren’t able to do that.

There are many people who think that Standardized Tests are helpful in schools and to the student’s and their families. For example, families say that Standardized Tests aren’t narrowing the curriculum, but focusing on the important basic skills all students need to know. This statement is not a valid argument because all students have different interests from one another. Some students want to learn more about a second language, but with Standardized Tests, they aren’t able to do so. Many parents also approve of Standardized Tests by saying that they are a great way to measure their child’s abilities, but Standardized Tests are not an accurate way to measure a student’s abilities because teachers are teaching to the test, drilling knowledge into their heads, getting them to memorize facts. Lastly, Unlike most tests, people say that Standardized Tests aren’t too stressful for students. However, Standardized Tests can account for a lot of things. If a student does really poorly on the test they may be talked to about summer school, or staying back. This causes students to stress out about getting a high score on the test. As one can see, Standardized Tests are not helpful to schools across the world.  

Standardized Tests are not useful in America because they aren’t a reliable measure of a student’s performance, they don’t improve a student’s achievement, and Standardized Tests have limited subjects. Standardized Tests don’t accurately measure a student’s performance, but projects or in-class activities do. Additionally, with teachers putting their main plans aside to prepare their students for Standardized Tests it takes away time from their main lesson, causing students to not learn everything they need to know. Finally, by art, foreign language, and other smaller subjects out of the picture for Standardized Tests, it causes students to have less interest in each topic, and not enjoy it as much. Standardized Tests are supposed to help out the school and everyone in them, but none of that is really happening.