- Negative effects of standardized testing
- Outline
- Thesis
- Although standardized test depicts some advantage, there are more disadvantages when applying it in the school learning curriculum.
- Introduction
- The main reason for using the standardized test in the school curriculum is to judge the performance of students. Professionals use the test to determine the proficiency of students among their peers. Professionals also use the results of standardized test to evaluate the performance of teachers. Standardized testing is a subject that results to various arguments because many people consider it as the best way of assessing students’ ability while others oppose this view. Some of the methods used in the test include placing students in to different learning groups and then evaluate what their performance. The other method of performing the test is ranking the schools amongst others in a certain geographical region. Although standardized test depicts some advantage, there are more disadvantages when applying it in the school learning curriculum.
- One of the negative effects of standardized tests is that they fail to give the correct results that professionals may expect in order to make necessary plans of improving the students’ education. All the concerned parties in the department of education accuse teachers of teaching to the test. Most of the teachers feel so much pressure after viewing the results of their students. They press so much pressure to make sure their students achieve a certain specific grade outlined by the test. Most of the teachers feel that they have to teach up to the test whether they like or not. This process of teaching can make school drudgery for students and therefore cause teachers lose morale of performing to their best. The method of standardized testing is presented to the teachers in multiple formats. Therefore, teachers are not able to measure the creativity of every student in the school. Teachers are also not able to assess the problem that affects individual students. For example, teachers are unable to evaluate on the part that a particular student went wrong when solving a particular problem in certain subjects. Many of the critics’ view that the questions applied in this method of testing are simple to determine the reading comprehension of students in a particular school. According to critics, this method is not able to demonstrate the critical thinking of students. The method is unable to show the problem solving ability of students after performing the testing. While conduction this method of testing, the interviewers may fail to get a single correct answer and this might lead to making the wrong results. The results may be unable to help most of the educators provide better support for all the students.
- The other negative effect of standardized testing is that the process of conducting the test fails to meet the required expectations. According to many critics, there are barriers that affect the process of conducting the test. While trying to assess what most of the students may be able to perform, certain biases hinder this particular process of testing. Some of the biases associate with language and cultural practices. In this method of testing, it is impossible to eradicate some of these biases. For example, some of the interviewers may intentionally neglect a part of the population. Research shows that the interviewers neglect girls and the minorities while conducting the test. This place the two groups at a disadvantaged position when the results of the test are out. Many of the interviewers and the companies that help in conducting the test find it hard to eliminate the biases in the whole process. Some of the critics who refer to this method as one of those that fail to meet the required expectations state that even after the students answer the questions correctly, the information is not yet reliable. They state that the answers fail to give fully digested information. For example, a particular student may be able to answer the question of who were the colonizers of America but fail to give more details about this issue. The students may not be able to answer the impacts of colonization and the benefits that the country received during this period. The main reason why this process is unable to obtain all this details is that the test would make the interviewers incur many expenses to administer all the necessary procedures.
- Another disadvantage of standardized testing is that most teachers have negative impact of the whole process and the results that come up after the test. Research indicates that this test place an amount of stress to both the students and their teachers. The stress may lead to negative health consequences that might lead to lowering the morale of performing the expected obligations. The negative feelings of both the students and teachers may affect the learning system of the entire school. Many of the teachers argue that the tests encourage them to teach the students about various alternative strategies of attaining the test score. This may have a negative impact on what the teachers can be able to offer. In real sense, the tests make the teachers find alternative ways of enabling the students pass exams in order to attain the alleged score rather than help them understand the syllabus. Most of the critics worry that the tests may lead to the students studying narrowly in a certain topics in order to impress their teachers. Failing to learn a wide range issue may result to the students being unable to acquire that necessary skills that might later be of significance importance in future life. Most of the critics’ states that, the test results in harming the life of students. Many of the students who undergo this test exhibit various characteristics of emotional stress. Other exhibits physical stress when the results of the test are out. The educators in learning institutions record that students end up crying while others vomit after viewing the results of these tests. The test may also bring about unexpected practices like cheating because both the teachers and students are anxious of providing the recommended results.
- Conclusion
- Although standardized test depicts some advantages, there are more disadvantages when applying it in the school learning curriculum. Standardized test may not be the best method that learning institutions ought to use in evaluating the performance of students. The results may not be reliable to the educators who may need them to make plans in the education department. While using the standards test, the schools may not be able to evaluate the real performance of students. Critics, who include all those concerned in the well-being of students, do not recommend this method of testing.
- One of the negative effects of standardized tests is that they fail to give the correct results that professionals may expect in order to make necessary plans of improving the students’ education.
- All the concerned parties in the department of education accuse teachers of teaching to the test.
- Teachers are also not able to assess the problem that affects individual students while using this method of testing.
- While conduction this method of testing, the interviewers may fail to get a single correct answer and this might lead to making the wrong results.
- The other negative effect of standardized testing is that the process of conducting the test fails to meet the required expectations.
- While trying to assess what most of the students may be able to perform, certain biases hinder this particular process of testing.
- In real sense, the tests make the teachers find alternative ways of enabling the students pass exams in order to attain the alleged score rather than help them understand the syllabus.
- The main reason why this process is unable to obtain all this details is that the test would make the interviewers incur many expenses to administer all the necessary procedures.
- Another disadvantage of standardized testing is that most teachers have negative impact of the whole process and the results that come up after the test.
- Research indicates that this test place an amount of stress to both the students and their teachers.
- Many of the teachers argue that the tests encourage them to teach the students about various alternative strategies of attaining the test score.
- The test may also bring about unexpected practices like cheating because both the teachers and students are anxious of providing the recommended results.
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