Ahmad Romero:

Presents

Abstract

On

Issues with standardized testing

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Why doesn’t standardized testing work?

For my topic,​ I will be researching the standardized system used for testing in the US​. By

doing this I feel topic I feel that the education system will need to be revamped due to it not

being fashioned for the learning experience.​ ​I am doing this topic because, as a student that went

through nearly every level of education in the U.S., I dare to say that the testing system simply

doesn't work. I say this because education is supposed to reform minds and give birth to newly

educated mindsets. Now tell me how much of the content that was presented does one actually

retain? If you had to put a percent on it, what would it be? 20%-30%? I bet most of the stuff you

learned was simply for an exam right? While this is the common truth for many, there are other

factors that may redefine the way you perceive standardized testing. Did you know that if a

student doesn't show much potential of doing well on an exam early on, resources are moved to

other students with a better aptitude? This is from one of my sources ​The Testing Charade:

pretending to make schools better.​ Half of the things we have to learn aren’t useful. Another

issue with education is curriculum. It seems to have random bits and pieces of knowledge that

are unrelated at times instead of a collective whole. I've also wondered why test were formatted

in multiple-choice it seems educators wanted the students to memorize content instead of

encoding it. With these glaring problems with education and the standardized system. I knew that

I had to do a breakdown of why it's so flawed. I wanted to know why standardized testing hasn't

really made a difference for me or anyone I know.

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Standardized testing, it is hated by students and utilized by educators. This system is

supposedly one of the best methods for seeing results of what students have learned. Just in case

someone isn't aware of what standardized testing is, I will define it. They are tests that are given

on a national level, that evaluate students. These tests generally consist of scantrons, a hefty

amount of questions , and a study guide that you may have to pay for. That doesn't sound too fair

right? With this in mind, one of the biggest flaws with this is standardized testing is the

unrealistic expectations for students to do well leading to scoring inflation.​ Score inflation is

when test scores or other scores in the class are increased but there is no improvement in

learning.​ One of the leading reasons for score inflation is cheating, Which makes a lot of sense

considering how all classes are quantitative. Learning shouldn’t be a numbers game, but I

understand that without grades we wouldn’t have too much to go off of. Even so, the education

system doesn't reward knowledge. It rewards grades. Understandable yes, but any system based

off of a scores, can and will be manipulated. I have a quote relating to this. It’s talking about

pressures that may push people towards misconduct such as cheating and it makes sense. I

personally know a lot of people that don't live up to the code of conduct because if they were to

do so, their grades would suffer. It is predicaments like this that cause score inflation . "The more

any quantitative social indicator is used for social making decision making, the more subject it

will be to corruption pressures and the apter it will be to distort and corrupt the social processes it

is intended to monitor" (​KORETZ 37​),This quote is saying that if there is a recorded standard that

people will be judged from, then those people are more likely to use exploits to meet the

standard. In the current era of the world, if students were to try and learn content themselves.

There would be no merit, especially if a student had to find understanding by doing poorly on an
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assignment. This is one of my biggest gripes with standardized testing. The grades, the grading

system, and the steep curve between excelling and falling behind.

Another issue with standardized testing is the curriculum. My question is who makes it?

Why are these topics important to learn? How are these topics decided upon? For the record,

there are two different curriculums. One is for state and the other is national. The state

curriculum is unique each separate state and has different guidelines than the national

curriculum. Even though there are 50 states that all have different curriculum. The state

curriculum is what students will be tested on. This alone begs the question of what's really

supposed to be covered in the classroom. Depending on where someone went to school would

determine how much they really knew, this is pivotal, especially when the curriculum changes by

the district. One could say going to school in certain areas have advantages and disadvantages. If

this fact is added on top of national curriculum not being covered as well in classrooms. It will

most definitely show when the tests roll out for the state. Some areas will definitely do better

than others. Showing an unfair bias in the education system and poor allocation of resources. All

students everywhere should have the same knowledge for all of the classes they have taken. The

fact that it isn't already like that is ludicrous to me​. The full definition of curriculum is not only

subject content but the structure of the content.​ ( Wayne 2) Meaning that content should be

taught in the same manner. Helping how students think as a collective, considering how we

could be learning content in the same way. However, it seems that educators forgot the full

definition of curriculum.
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There is another topic I wish to elaborate on. In my previous paragraph, I spoke of going

to schools in certain areas which would have advantages or disadvantages due to the local

curriculum and what is covered. I failed to mention how schools in wealthier districts also have

an advantage. For example, in my chemistry class, the final exam is a standardized test and there

is no study guide, well not for free of course. If you want it you have to pay for it. Another

example of this is are websites like Chegg, where one can pay to have so many resources. For 15

dollars a month, nearly any question you search will be up there with the full answer,

explanation, videos, and even tutors. The pay to win tactic is kind of an insult to the meritocracy

that we have been taught to believe. It also goes without saying how unfair Chegg is to people

that can’t afford a subscription like that. With this being said wealthier schools and wealthier

students can afford more resources, where students lacking this monetary privilege don't perform

as well on the test because they don't have as many resources. (​Thomas​). Which could possibly

explain why schools have such a fluctuation in test scores.

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This is no laughing matter, however, I find this comic strip hilarious. I just think it's

funny how perfect this comic strip is for the topic. Like, what is the point of learning at a

different pace and having a unique learning style if it going to be measured by a different

system? One can't tell me this counter-intuitive system is productive. ​If students are going to be

measured by a standard shouldn’t they be taught in that standard?​ That's like the US being on the

imperial system then giving an exam on the metric scale without the knowledge of conversions.

A fool hardy system if you were to ask me.

Even though this whole argument is to discredit standardized testing, It does have some

perks. The whole point of the standardization system is an easy way to assess the progress of

students. With this being said it makes sense that educators would have an exam to see who

passes, who fails, and who is capable enough to excel. Everything that is said for a little while;
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let it be known that this is from and educators perspective. To make sure that the students really

know the information the test has many questions that are all randomly selected. Also, put the

exams on scantrons so they can be graded fast and efficiently. The performance data would be

fairly easy to interpret, considering how they are just "numbers". From the data, the state would

know if the schools performed well, or if there is an issue with the curriculum. When it comes to

trying to get rid of standardized testing, one of the first things that will be brought up is

efficiency. Questions will be asked like what exam practice would you recommend that can

bring back fast results?? If I were to be asked this I wouldn't have a solution. ​. Standardized

testing is so widely used because it's the easiest and faster way to interpret data. It has no rival.

This may seem like a foolproof system to some but it isn't. ​Something's look better on paper,

communism is a prime example. The only effective thing about standardized testing is data

collection. Any other testing system that didn't depend heavily on scantrons would take much

longer to record. Yes doing things in a timely fashion is good, but it shouldn't be depended on

because it's easy. It seems like none of the educators want to actually take the time to give a test

that would reflect everything students have been taught and will continue to learn. Not just

multiple choice, but with questions that will test actual understanding and application of ideas.

This is what we should really be doing, but that's too much work right??

Regardless of the one true advantage of standardized testing, which is the speed of the

results coming back, it doesn't outweigh the cons. Ease of use doesn't mean it's the best option. If

a universal system like standardized testing is to be used it needs to be thoroughly thought out. It

shouldn’t be so dependent on scores that it causes score inflation. The system shouldn’t have two
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different curriculums and only test on one. Or have their high stake multiple choice test, taken in

a crowded environment, which of course is prone to cheating. If these example aren’t enough to

convince you, just know that teachers have also tampered with scores for their evaluations

because it can affect salary and job security .(​Armstrong​) How are we supposed to trust the

scores of a test where even the teachers cheat? Not only that but score inflation is deeply

embedded in the standardized system. So the performance data shouldn’t be trusted. Score

inflation leads to the people at the top of the food chain looking at the results, concluding that

everything is fine with the curriculum and nothing changes. That seems awfully

counter-intuitive. So with curriculum being in shambles considering how there are two separate

curriculums as I previously stated, score inflation, narrowing of curriculum ( certain classes

don’t cover entire subject because they know it won’t be on the standardized test.), and the

pedagogy of curriculum not being covered. I currently believe that standardized testing

potentially does more harm to our education system than good.+0

Works Cited

Au, Wayne. “High-Stakes Testing and Curricular Control: A Qualitative Metasynthesis.”

Www.jstor,Org,​ American Educational Research Association,

www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/30137912.pdf?acceptTC=true&acceptTC=true&jpdConfirm=true​.

Armstrong, Thomas. “15 Reasons Why Standardized Tests Are Worthless.” ​The

American Institute for Learning and Human Development​, 28 Feb. 2013,

www.institute4learning.com/2013/02/28/15-reasons-why-standardized-tests-are-worthless-2/​.
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KORETZ, DANIEL. ​TESTING CHARADE: Pretending to Make Schools Better.​ UNIV

OF CHICAGO Press, 2017

Jennings, Jennifer L, and Andrew A Beveridge. “How Does Test Exemption Affect

Schools' and Students' Academic Performance?” ​Www.jstor.org,​ American Educational Research

Association,

www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/25478691.pdf?acceptTC=true&acceptTC=true&jpdConfirm=true​.

1. What is working best about your essay so far?

Well, I would say that I like the low of my essay. I am biased but I think it’s an
interesting read.

2. What would you change if you had more time?

I don’t really know what I would change.
3. Describe one way that you offered quality feedback for your peer review
partner?
I gave him various topics of improvement like how to better his conclusion,
staying with the target audience but not drowning them out with details.
4. Describe one way that you incorporated the peer review feedback you
received?​ I changed a fair amount of my essay. I changed my open
paragraph, separated one of my paragraphs, and took out somethings that
were informal.
5. Double check to see if you put your thesis statement in bold and
underlined the main idea in each paragraph. ​I did
6. Did you follow all of the directions on the assignment sheet? If not, why
not?​ Not really, I didn’t read it thoroughly.
7. Finally, what grade do you think your essay deserves and why?
I would say a low B, even though I may be loose with the style of an
academic argument, I have good points. I think if flows nicely, and it’s
conversational almost if you get what I mean.