Standardize Testing Hurting American Students
A dark cloud looms over the school system and that cloud is called standardized testing. Each year, this test brings unneeded anxiety the students forced to take them in order to advance to the next level. School is no longer about learning and making friends; it is about how well you can fill in bubbles. This paper argues that standardized testing are doing more harm than good as they deprive children of the opportunity to show what they learned in their own way.
The History Behind the Test
Standardized testing has been around for a long time. Over the years in the USA education system the tests have become more stressful than ever before. In America standardized testing came about during the Industrial Revolution when more students started to go to school, because it was the best way to test many students at once (Fletcher, 2009). Testing began in the public education system that was created by Horace Mann in the Boston schools. He created this system to get information on teaching practices, but also to compare schools (Gallagher, 2003). Standardized testing was put in place to make sure students could do these skills.
In the 21st century testing became more centered on school performance, because of No Child Left Behind. No Child Left Behind was an add on to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (New American Foundation, 2014). The main goal of No Child Left Behind was to close the achievement gap, and the thought was that standardized testing would create a level playing field for students. This program was suppose to help children that come from lower income families (New American Foundation, 2014). This in turn would close the gap between students of different income levels. This program was to ensure all students were proficient at their grade level in math reading by 2014. The problem with this is that many states opted for waivers so they did not have to meet this target goal by 2014 (New American Foundation, 2014). This in turn shows that they gap has not been closed since the programs targets have not been achieved. “In 2008 the administration of the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP)1 suggest that the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is failing to close the achievement gap between minority and non-minority students.” (Hahnel, 2009). With this evidence it shows that No Child Left Behind is not doing what it was suppose to do.
“I don’t think there’s any way to build a multiple-choice question that allows students to show what they can do with what they know.” Roger Farr, professor of Education at Indiana University.
Testing Today and Why We Do It
Over the school year in America there will be a little over 100 million standardized tests given out to students (Heinemann, 1996). Standardized tests range from achievement tests to readiness tests. Achievement tests are tests that are setup to measure what students already know, while readiness tests are tests to see if the student is ready to move on to the next grade. Strauss believes, “Bubble tests are developmentally inappropriate for the youngest learners. Emphasis on ‘skill drill and kill’ fails to stimulate children’s imagination and limits their natural curiosity” (Strauss, 2014). In Phillip Harris’s book, Myths of Standardized Tests: Why They Don’t Tell You What You Think They Do, he explains the purpose behind these tests is funding. He explains that government programs like No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top have put standardize testing to the forefront of education decisions in America. He says, “ The model of accountability that our policy makers generally espouse takes an “industrial” approach to schooling. It defines the values of all our educational efforts strictly in term of test scores and so makes increasing those scores the primary goal of our schools” (Harris, 2011).
Tests today are used to rank students and schools based off how well the students in a particular school do. Some schools are even closed due to the low-test scores. “Schools labeled as “failing” on the basis of test scores can be threatened with closure. These schools are usually in communities of color” (Strauss, 2014). It has been shown that a student’s economic background can affect their testing ability. “Under the No Child Left Behind Act, test scores impact how much funding a school gets from the government, as well as how much autonomy a school has” (Evans, 2013).
Although author Phillip Harris argues that standardized testing is a means for funding, still others believe that the test has real value for the students that take it. They argue that standardized testing can have a positive affect on students learning ProCon.org, an organization that is nonpartisan to tell the facts about controversial subjects, posted that the US Department of Education stated, “”Teaching to the test” can be a good thing because it focuses on essential content and skills, eliminates time-wasting activities that don’t produce learning gains, and motivates students to excel” (US Department of Education, 2004). Many testing advocates argue that standardized testing is the only fair way to ensure students are being assessed equally and fairly. They suggest that the alternatives like teacher-graded assessments are too subjective, making them unfair (ProCon, 2014). It is assumed that having a test that is standard across all schools in a state ensures high expectations, for all students while also closing the achievement gap (Luna & Turneer, 2001).
Noah’s Story
There is a lot of controversy over standardized testing whether they are beneficial or not beneficial. These studies look at kids overall in America, and not at them on an individual basis. Here is a story about a student named Noah who is affected by testing. He is a good student and very intelligent, but he has bad test anxiety that fills him with stress and sadness before these standardized test even starts. His mother explains,” He was crying in my arms the night before the test, saying: ‘I’m not ready, Mom. They didn’t teach us everything that will be on the test.’ ” In fourth grade, he was upset the whole week before the exam. “He manifests it physically” (Bronson & Merryman, 2013). As a fourth grader he is already too stressed out and it is affecting his health. He is getting sick and he fears school. As a young student that is very concerning.
“What is tested does count, but much of what counts cannot be tested.”-Student Learning, Student Achievement Report Task Force
What Are Students Losing By Taking These Tests?
Noah’s mom is not the only parent seeing students struggle with these tests. Many parents are starting to see schools as “test prep centers” rather than schools for genuine learning (Kohn, 2014). Parents are not the only ones to notice the harm these tests are having on students. Many specialists do not think it is smart to give students under the age of 9 these tests, and also experts believe that these tests should not be used to determine important events like going onto the next grade (Kohn, 2000). Parents, specialist, teachers, and experts believe standardized testing is not the best approach to assessing students’ knowledge, yet it is still an approach used in schools all across America and mandated by federal law.
In Noah’s case, he lost his love for school and learning by the fourth grade. America is one of the few countries that use standardized tests for young students (Kohn, 2000). Many students in America have anxiety over these tests or they are not good test-takers. Constance Weaver explains, “For many young children, standardized tests result in ‘death at an early age’ or at least to a life sentence doing remedial practice and drill in special classes or lower “ability” groups or tracks” (Weaver, 1996). Using these tests to group students according to ability levels can be stressful for students and at times leave students feeling left out or behind.
Testing not only hurts students physically and emotionally, but it also hurts them mentally with a loss of actual learning time. Alfie Kohn (2014) a prominent voice writing about the negative effects of standardized testing culture, argues that, “The test results may well have improved at the expense of real learning.” In other words, proponents suggest that these tests cause students to lose learning time in the classroom and reduce time for content instruction (Strauss, 2014). In effect, the culture of standardized testing has deprived students of learning subjects beyond those routinely tested such as reading and math. It has been reported that some schools stop teaching content area curriculum like science so that students can practice more for tests (Kohn, 2001). Along with cutting content area instruction, recess and physical education are also being eliminated at certain schools. In light of this focus on testing, it is reported that some new schools are reportedly being built without playgrounds, and physical education in some areas has been cut down to 30 minutes a week (Kohn, 2001).
Content instruction in schools is not the only thing that has been cut out of the traditional school year. Testing has taken away opportunities for students to get out of the classroom for fieldtrips. “All field trips in Ravenswood City, Calif., elementary schools were suspended until after the spring testing cycle” (Kohn, 2001). Field trips used to be a staple of school years around the nation and these field trips also helped students to learn. Along with field trips, school children across America also use to take part in community service. “One primary-grade teacher in Milwaukee told that city’s school board in June that frequent testing of her students means they can no longer contribute to a Thanksgiving dinner for homeless people or prepare games for cancer patients at a children’s hospital” (Kohn, 2001). Testing has not only affected the student’s psyche, but also limited what they can learn and participate in at school.
Noah is now in fifth grade and his testing anxiety is no better than it was the year before. His testing anxiety actually got worse over the past year. His mother says, “The anxiety lasted a solid month before the test. “Even after the test, he couldn’t let it go. He would wonder about questions he feared he misunderstood” (Bronson & Merryman, 2013). His testing anxiety went from horrible to worse. His story is one of many though. He is not the only student to have these problems due to fear of failure over these tests. Standardized testing has put a major weight on students like Noah. The US Department of Education has put out research to say standardized testing is helping the education system, but many researchers, professionals, and parents disagree. At the start of the school year, there are students that start to get anxious and scared for testing time to come. Students should not live in fear due to tests that do not accurately show what they can do as a student. Testing is hurting America’s children more than it is helping them.
References:
Bronson, P., & Merryman, A. (2013, February 9). Why Can Some Kids Handle Pressure While Others Fall Apart? Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/magazine/why-can-some-kids-handle-pressure-while-others-fall-apart.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&hp&
Gallagher, C. J. (2003). Reconciling a tradition of testing with a new learning paradigm. Educational Psychology Review, 15 (1), 83–99.
Harris, P., Smith, B.M., & Harris, J. (2011). Myths of Standardize Tests: Why They Don’t Tell You What You Think They Do. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Hanhel, J. (2009). No Child Left Behind Fails to Close the Achievement Gap. Youth Law News, 28 (2) 1.
Kohn, A. (2001, August 21). Emphasis on Testing Leads to Sacrifices in Other Areas. Retrieved from http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/sacrifices.htm
Kohn, A. (2014, May, 5). Poor Teaching for Poor Kids. Language Arts, 70(3), 251–255.
Kohn, A. (2000, September 27). Standardize Testing and Its Victims. Retrieved from http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/edweek/staiv.htm
Luna, C., & Turner, C. (2001). The impact of the MCAS: Teachers talk about high-stakes testing. English Journal, 91 (1), 79–87. New American Foundation (2014). No Child Left Behind. Retrieved from http://febp.newamerica.net/background-analysis/no-child-left-behind overview
ProCon.org. (2014, July 3). Is the Use of Standardized Tests Improving Education in America? Retrieved from http://standardizedtests.procon.org
Strauss, V. (March 11). 13 ways high-stakes standardize tests hurt students. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/10/13-ways-high-stakes-standardized-tests-hurt-students/
Weaver, C. (1996). Facts On standardized tests and assessment alternatives. Retrieved from http://www.heinemann.com/shared/onlineresources/08894/08894f10.html
Wheelan, S. & Kesselring, J. (2005). Link between faculty group development and elementary student performance on standardized tests. Journal of Educational Research, 98 (6), 323–330.
Genre Piece #1
This comic is to explain the fear that students have when they are faced with standardized testing. These two students have so much fear they are making themselves sick and upset.
Genre Piece #2
This obituary shows the death of fun at school and learning. This shows what standardize testing has done to some students in America.
