Should Standardized Tests be Eliminated?

[5Lauren]

 

Standardized tests have been around since the mid 1800s, but do they actually give us an accurate view on students progress? Many people say no. Standardized tests such as the ACT and SAT are normally taken during your sophomore and junior years of high school, and they are used on college applications and scholarship applications. Many students believe that both of these tests only show which students are good at taking tests, not what they actually know. The ACT and SAT tests take about 3 hours to complete, and many teenagers can’t stay focused for this long with few breaks. During both of these tests, the students get 3 five minute breaks, which many students say is not near enough time to give their minds a break.

 

Another standardized test that many people believe should be banned is the ISASP. This test takes a lot of learning time away from students, and there are many other ways to gauge if a child is improving in the classroom. If many students score badly on the ISASP test, it can lead to that school district receiving less money. The schools are then forced to lay off students, which means that those students aren’t getting the help they might need in the classroom. There are many instances of schools letting kids cheat on these tests so they don’t get less money in the coming year.

 

All in all, there are many arguments against standardized testing as a whole. Many school districts have pushed to get rid of standardized testing, but since the government regulates this testing, they have no choice. Each state is required to administer testing for reading, language arts, and math for grades 3-8 and at least one time in high school. They are also required to give out the science test once in elementary school, once in middle school, and once in high school. Personally, I don’t think the ACT, SAT, and ISASP tests have much of a benefit on students. If anything, it causes more stress on the students, because if they don’t score well it can keep them from getting scholarships or getting into college. I also think that making 3rd graders take standardized tests is not beneficial at all, and it takes away from their time in the classroom.

 

Do you think that standardized tests should be eliminated?

 

Do you think that 3rd grade is too young to be giving standardized tests?

 

https://www.civilbeat.org/2016/05/why-standardized-testing-needs-to-be-abolished/ 

https://www.scillsspartners.org/federal-requirements-for-state-assessments/#:~:text=Under%20the%20Every%20Student%20Succeeds,9%2C%20and%2010%2D12.

[5Lauren]

I agree that these tests can really stress kids out, especially since they take a whole week to complete.

[2 Ethan]

I think that standardized tests should not be eliminated because they show what level of learning a student is at within different subjects. I personally think that 3rd grade is too young to have standardized tests. I feel that standardized tests should start in middle school.

[5Lauren]

I see your point that the tests do show what level the students are at, but I think that there are more effective ways to show that without taking the ISASPs.

[7Chloe]

I think that standardized tests shouldn't be eliminated altogether but that they should start freshman year of high school. No, standardized tests don't really help you when you're younger, but they help give a ballpark estimate of where you are.

[5Lauren]

I think that the tests should start in 6th grade, and I agree that they do give a good estimate on where you are.

[5Eli]

I think that standardized tests mean little to nothing. I do not think that the tests help benefit the learner at all. They do not serve a good purpose for education. I think that third grade is way too young to be taking those test. They do not serve a good enough purpose to be taken at a young age.

[7Jeb]

I think that standardized tests should be eliminated because they don't help students. The way school teaches students lessons, is to memorize information, then repeat it on a test. Then after that, basically just forget what you just learned. It isn't learning, and it's not helping anyone. 

[5Lauren]

I agree and a lot of students score poorly on these tests because they forgot the material they learned months before.

[5abby]

I think that some standardized tests should be eliminated, but some shouldn't. I do believe that third grade is a little young to start tests because little kids like that can't focus on one thing for that long, and they also might not be ready for tests that really mean something. I think some tests we should take so teachers know where we are.

[5Lauren]

I agree and I think that the tests should start in 6th grade rather than 3rd.