Is there a need for standardized testing?  There is no need for standardized testing.  Students are often stressed about taking these tests as well as the results of the test itself.  These tests do not provide information about what the students learned verses what they did not learn.  These tests do not help the teacher know what to teach better because the teacher is not allowed to find out what the students got wrong on the test.  The rigor of testing is destroying education.  Testing is driven by politicians who think that tests make students smarter.  Standardized testing has been around a long time.  There is evidence that Imperial China used standardized testing in rudimentary form to determine a person’s eligibility for positions in the government.  Standardized testing was also used in World War I to determine the best positions for new recruits.  Currently, standardized testing is used to provide information about student’s intellectual abilities for admission into college.  However, these tests don’t provide information about what the students have learned.  These tests offer a snap shot of the total person and not a whole educational picture of the person.

 
Why do some individuals believe that standardized testing is an essential part of the educational process?  They feel tests like the ACT and SAT show a wealth of information about college readiness skills and provide universities information about upcoming students and their potential academic success at a college level.  Standardized testing has been around for a long time and people have accepted the fact that it is an integral part of the education process, however, they fail to realize that teachers often teach to the test.  These law makers and other individuals who believe in standardized tests often do not realize the fact that less time is being spent on science, social studies, and arts to prepare for standardized tests that focus on math, reading and writing.  Test scores do not show progress for students over time.  These tests are merely one test that gives a score on the student’s abilities. 

Other ways to measure student’s success include high school graduation rates.  Another measurement tool could be a student’s enrollment in Advanced Placement (AP) classes in high school.  Examining how many student’s from one particular high school get accepted into college and also the number of students who actually attend college would provide a wealth of information about student’s success at a college level.  The standardized tests does not provide an insight into the abilities of the student to achieve a Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD level degrees.  A student’s commitment and desire to obtain various levels of degrees is shown through hard work and dedication and not a standardized test.

Student achievement, for students in grades 4 and 8, significantly increases when taught by teachers with a master’s education.  These students scored higher on standardized math and reading assessments than students taught by teachers with only a Bachelor’s degree.  Thirty seven states have improved their overall teacher policy grades in the areas of teacher evaluation    and related teacher effectiveness policies.  One-third of all states have adopted evaluation policies requiring teacher evaluations to include objective measures of student achievement.  This has a direct impact on teacher effectiveness and classroom educational rigor for students.

Overall, standardized testing has no place within schools.  Currently, almost every teaching lesson is focused on testing.   Standardized testing doesn’t prepare students for what they will encounter in real life situations.   We must gather accurate data and information on the effectiveness and purpose of standardized testing to see if it is relevant to our current academic situation. 

Works Cited
Jouriles, Greg. "Here's Why We Don't Need Standardized Tests." Education Week. N.p., 09 Feb. 2017. Web. 16 May 2017.
Ravitch, Diane. "Why Every Child Should Opt Out of the Standardized Tests." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost, 11 Apr. 2016. Web. 16 May 2017.
"Do Standardized Tests Show an Accurate View of Students’ Abilities?" Concordia University Portland Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2017.