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Mark Dube

Professor Moore

English 1302

15 March 2017

The Weight of Standardized Testing

If the modern education systems goal is to prepare the nations school children for a

successful future, then there is a major problem with the current education system. The current

United States school system relies heavily on standardized testing to judge student progress and

intelligence levels along with teacher performance, with most states having slightly different

versions of the test. In high school standardized tests are the main way of judging students

knowledge and intelligence level, while also being the main way of evaluating teachers

performance. The current version of testing is a great way to measure individual performance

while also being easily graded by a computer, however has become extremely detrimental

children learning in society today. The government should encourage the states to change the

structure of the standardized tests to create a less stressful environment for both teachers and

students alike by changing the weight of the standardized tests to make them less impactful on

the grading of students and using them more as an extra assessment tool along with normal

school work.

The current multiple choices question and answer testing system is not a realistic way to

judge a student's knowledge and performance ability, which is the main goal of the current

testing system in place. These types of tests benefit people who are extremely book-smart, while

also benefiting people who are naturally good test takers. Many students think that the current

multiple choice system is not a realistic way to judge their knowledge. Some schools have
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implemented alternative means of assessment such as alternative tests, or even portfolios to help

students be more creative and have more means of assessment other than just the standardized

tests. The portfolios specifically have not gone widespread throughout the nation due to the fact

that they must be graded by an individual rather than a computer, which is one of main reasons

that standardized tests are so widely popular. Standardized tests can be graded almost exclusively

by a computer meaning less time is wasted having people grade them, while also reducing

possible human error.

The creativity of students is being impacted significantly by the weight of the

standardized tests. The tests mainly focus on subjects such as reading and math and while

reading and math are very important, some consideration should be given to other subjects such

as creative writing to encourage more creativity in the students and allow for students who are

stronger in other subjects not currently emphasized in standardized tests to show their strengths..

With the current testing system mainly consisting of multiple choice problems spread across

many sections, the only part where students are really allowed to show their creativity and

imagination is on the occasional essay at the end of the tests. Unfortunately these essays tend to

be on a pre-determined topics which still limits the amount of student creativity. The creativity of

students is directly affecting the workforce of current generation of students, which will result in

significantly less innovative generation. The tests should be weighed significantly less to allow

students to focus more on creative tasks such as art, creative writing, or even extracurricular

activities such as sports to give students more options to be creative and not just prepare and test

a mind numbing multiple choice tests.

The practice of placing so much importance on standardized test performance to

determine if a student advances in grade level, school performance, and teacher performance is
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causing the most problems with students and teachers. The current system is weighing tests so

highly that it forces teachers to spend most of their time in the classroom preparing students for

test since most of the teachers performance evaluation is based upon the test results. A public

school superintendent in Las Cruces, New Mexico named Greg Ewing found that there is a great

amount of anxiety being expressed over the standardized test scores between both students and

teachers (Willis). In this study, many teachers and students complained about their stress that was

originating to the standardized tests causing the superintendent to investigate. So much weight is

put on the test results that it is affecting students productivity both inside and outside of school.

To reduce this test anxiety, the overall weight placed on the standardized test results should be

lowered significantly to allow students to focus on their classes and extracurricular activities to

create a more creative, and more intelligent generation outside of straight-up memorization and

book smarts. Ewing even goes to a further extent to state that teachers should not get punished

for their students test scores, and that their overall evaluation should be based upon their ability

to teach, interact, and their ability to maintain healthy relationships with their students. Teachers

are sometimes being punished severely over their students standardized test results with some

teachers even quitting their teaching career because of the stress and anxiety created by the tests

(Walker). If teachers can concentrate on a broader curriculum that emphasizes creativity, critical

thinking, and book knowledge, students will still receive good results back on their tests if their

teachers are solid performers focusing on teaching a broad curriculum rather than preparing

exclusively for the test. Teachers should enjoy their job and be able to focus on the knowledge

they are teaching and enjoy the classroom rather than focusing solely on possible test results

their students may receive (WIllis). The weight of the standardized test must change in order for
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the creativity of students to increase, while also decreasing the anxiety for both students and

teachers alike, creating a more friendly school environment.

School administrators are noticing the limitations of standardized tests and some of the

resulting unintended negative consequences of the tests and are thus studying alternatives. Some

school districts have tried to an alternative means to assess students knowledge more accurately.

A study done primarily in elementary schools tried using mainly an alternative means of

assessing students chosen by the teacher in lieu of standardized test, however it was found that

there was still a need for the standardized test in addition to the alternative means of assessment.

The teachers found that using an alternative means of assessing the students knowledge in

conjunction with standardized tests cover the subject matter taught were able to more accurately

evaluate student knowledge (Sinkule). The study was extremely comprehensive taking many

things into consideration such as competencies tests, criterion-referenced tests, and norm-

referenced tests among others to try and find the perfect alternative. In the end, the study

concluded that standardized tests should not be the main solution in student evaluation, but rather

should be sued in conjunction along with an alternative means of assessment such as a criterion-

referenced test.

Standardized tests not only place a great amount of burden on students but also on

teachers. Teachers are mainly evaluated on their students test scores and can also be directly

affected by teachers teaching other subjects who may affect their students test performance. For

example, a students performance in the math portion of the test may be impacted by their ability

to read word problems. Thus the math teacher's performance is impacted by the reading teachers

performance. The amount of weight placed on standardized test results is directly affecting

teachers as well since they are forced to teach specifically for any upcoming test as well as
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having the majority of their job performance evaluation resting upon their students test scores.

Ultimately this means their career success is riding on their students test results and thus creates

an extremely stressful work environment. In a NEA survey, it was found that the vast majority of

teachers felt highly pressured to improve their students test scores from both the school and

district administrators alike(Walker). The stress put on the teachers is negatively impacting the

classroom dramatically from a learning standpoint, which is tied directly to the weight of the

tests. Reducing the weight of the tests would allow students to focus less on the tests and also

allow teachers to focus more on good, sound teaching, while also concentrating on their

relationships and interactions with their students. The weight of standardized tests being lowered

would not only benefit students but also massively benefit the quality of work life for teachers.

In the culture of United States to be seen as successful to the vast majority of people, an

individual should have a decent, high paying job that would allow them to support a family and

live comfortably. By these standards, to become successful an individual must have a good, solid

education background as their foundation. The current education system with standardized tests

being weighed so heavily is negatively impacting the learning environment at school for both

students and teachers alike, while also adding stress into the lives of teachers whose jobs are

evaluated by their students own test scores. Lowering the weight of the standardized tests and

supplementing them with alternative assessment methods would allow students to be more

creative and innovative, while also giving teachers the opportunity to teach a broader curriculum

to their students to help prepare for the careers of the future while reducing both student and

teacher stress and anxiety.

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Works Cited

Walker, Tim. NEA Survey: Nearly Half Of Teachers Consider Leaving Profession Due

to Standardized Testing. NEA Today, NEA Today, 26 Aug. 2015,

neatoday.org/2014/11/02/nea-survey-nearly-half-of-teachers-consider-leaving-

profession-due-to-standardized-testing-2/. Accessed 4 Mar. 2017.

Sinkule, Judith Louise. A Study of Standardized Tests and Alternatives for Elementary

Schools. 01 Dec. 1996. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED413344&site=ehost-live. Accessed 20 Mar. 2017.

Louise, Judith. "A Study of Standardized Tests and Alternatives for Elementary

Schools."ERIC - Education Resources Information Center. N.p., 30 Nov. 1996. Web.

20 Apr. 2017.