Standardized Testing

The field of education is filled with many important lessons that can be used in and out of the classroom. Teachers work tirelessly all year to give their students the most knowledge that they can carry with them throughout their lives. Creative lesson plans are made and fun activities are conducted in order for students to get a good grasp on the material. However, not all of these lessons matter when it comes to testing students on their knowledge. Standardized Testing is admitted all throughout the state in order to gauge how much the student has learned about the material and standards. The tests are administered to all students to find out where they fall in comparison to their fellow classmates and to see if they have mastered what they are expected to learn that year. These tests are supposed to be consistent and in the past have been administered on paper and on the computer. Despite the continued wide use of these tests, the public seems to vary in their opinion, and be very outspoken about it.

As a student in the United States following the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, I have completed years and years of standardized testing. Every year my teachers would prepare us for these large scale mandatory tests that were usually conducted at the end of the year to see if we had learned what the state thought was important. Classrooms were stripped and desks were spaced to avoid any possibility of cheating. Once we were old enough to have phones, those were taken out of the classroom

Six students sitting in desks while their 
teacher reads a book in the classroom

by our teachers and school faculty. Number 2 pencils were passed around the room until testing was moved onto the computer and we instead were taught how to take tests on the computer days prior to the testing. As a young student all of this seemed very intimidating and frightening. I have always been good at taking tests and moved quickly through them so I never worried about finishing on time, but this is not the same situation that many of my classmates experienced. Many students, who are very smart, test very badly and receive low scores on the standardized tests. Many opponents of standardized testing claim that it is unfair and doesn't really test a student's knowledge, but rather their ability to take a test. Most of the material we learned throughout the year did not even appear on these exams. Many of the questions have also been found to target specific groups and leave out many students. However, these tests are not all bad. They are very efficient, when conducted properly, at getting an overall picture of what the students have learned. Teachers can use results to target certain content areas that the students might be struggling with. And they also make sure that each student is being taught similar things. With all of the pros and cons that have been heavily debated it seems that there could be a way for improvements to be made to standardized tests in order for students to get a more well-rounded education. Standardized testing will probably stick around for years to come, but with improvements that make it fair for all students, it could become a better indicator of students' knowledge and future success.