Standardized Testing in Schools: The Analysis Essay -- Standardized Tes

Standardized Testing in Schools: The Analysis Abstract Within this paper we hope to answer lingering questions about the effectiveness of standardized testing in schools. Throughout our research we found many instances and sources of information to help us reach our goal. Standardized Testing had grown to play an enormous role in controversy concerning the Education system within the past decade. Hopefully throughout our paper it can be understood as to why this occurred and what can be done about it. Group Paper: Standardized Testing in Schools Standardized tests are used all over the country as a means to measure students’ academic performance. Often the students become frustrated upon taking these tests and in turn do not perform at their optimal level. Research has shown that standardized tests cannot fully represent a student’s intelligence or achievement. For the longest time, the education system has used a school’s test scores as competition between itself and other schools. This is because administering a test is less expensive than changing a curriculum. Reformatting instructional time, reducing class size, or accommodating new teachers would most likely be more of a waste of money than simply placing a test on a desk. The better a school’s test scores are, the more likely it is to be highly ranked across the country. Schools strive hard to have their students’ scores increase, not decrease. Looking back on tests of previous years, teachers can examine where students excelled and where they did not perform as well. Using this, they can adopt a new and improved test for students, which will make performance in certain areas, seem to increase (Patten, 2000). Teachers tend to teach and administer u... ...ved October 17, 2003 from http://www.msp.msde.state.md.us/rschool.asp?crypt=%A8%82rx%83%8CJ%A6%8A%A7%8F%9Fjc%A6%A1nh%A6%94%8C%93%9E%AF%B6%BA%B3%C8%AE%A1pp%A7%A7%AA%C7%D0Nx%86%A0%AE%89%84%A8%B4%A5%B0%A1%8E%9C%98q%94%9C%97n%A4%9Fh%ACs%5E%83%A4%95j%8C%A1%83%7F%93o%9Cw%96%8F%A6%98%AD%92%CA%B2 . MSPAP Test Results for Howard County. 2002, Retrieved October 17, 2003 from http://www.howard.k12.md.us/accountability/mspap/default.html . Patton, Peggy (2000). Standardized Testing in Schools. Parent News Archives. Retrieved November 23, 2003 from http://npin.org/pnews/2000/pnew100/feat100.html. Sedam, Sean R.(2003). Officials Question Testing Strategy. Retrieved December 6, 2003 from http://www.gazette.net/200349/weekend/a_section/191428-1.html. WAIS and the Present Wave of Standardized Testing. 2002, Retrieved September 27 2003, Microsoft Encarta, 2002.