Is the use of standardized tests improving education in america?

5 Comments

Standardized tests have been a part of American education since the mid-1800s. Their use skyrocketed after 2002's No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) mandated annual testing in all 50 states. US students slipped from 18th in the world in math in 2000 to 31st place in 2009, with a similar decline in science and no change in reading. Failures in the education system have been blamed on rising poverty levels, teacher quality, tenure policies, and increasingly on the pervasive use of standardized tests. 

Proponents say standardized tests are a fair and objective measure of student achievement, that they ensure teachers and schools are accountable to taxpayers, and that the most relevant constituents – parents and students – approve of testing.

Opponents say the tests are neither fair nor objective, that their use promotes a narrow curriculum and drill-like "teaching to the test," and that excessive testing undermines America's ability to produce innovators and critical thinkers.

standardized test improve education 2
standardized test ruin education 15
dont care 3
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Comments ( 5 )
  • JD777
    9 years ago

    It's helpful to know the history here. High schools got more funding and administrators got higher ratings if their graduation rates were higher. So, they short-sightedly just made high school easier to boost graduation rates. The result was the graduation of kids who were under-educated (some could barely read and write functionally). Many kids couldn't get high enough college entrance exam scores to get admitted to accredited colleges. So, college graduation rates, especially among underprivileged kids, went/stayed down.

    So, it made sense to keep the graduation rate incentives, but require those who are graduated to have a base level of education. Standardized tests were developed to measure this. And again short-sightedly, high school administrators and teachers started "teaching for the test" instead of providing a balanced education.

    That's why there is now a trend toward focusing testing on teachers and administrators to ensure we eradicate the short-sighted/deficient ones and get them focused on the goal of providing a balanced education that prepares kids for college or gainful employment.

    That said, standardized testing will probably remain in some form, to ensure schools are actually doing what they're funded to do - educate.

    Rant over. Just wanted to point out that it's a multi-dimensional issue.

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  • 967288
    8 years ago

    the drop out rate is getting higher and higher. The government and the school boards make a butt load of money off the tests. So the more the kids take the more money they make. Scads of good teachers are quitting or retiring because they can't stand being stuck getting kids ready for tests over and over and over.

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  • liberty_
    8 years ago

    Well I think that you can't judge someone's learning by a timed test, especially when that person is stressed, although I do not think state testing is "ruining" education. It may just be a coincidence that our ability to learn has dropped significantly.

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  • thegypsysailor
    9 years ago

    Uh, let me put it this way. Do you, OP, think anyone, I repeat ANYONE except Dubya of course, thinks that they have done anything to improve the American educational system? Except Dubya, of course, but I said that already, didn't I?

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  • Fall_leaves
    9 years ago

    No, there's no further curriculum being taught. If it doesn't exist on the test it's never covered in class. Which is why college is such a huge change because Highschool doesn't challenge students, there's no passion for learning. I had teachers in Highschool that would bitch about the tests and apologize for having to hand them out. You can't teach to a select few when the rest of the class is falling behind, the tests don't offer flexibility for the students or teachers.

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