Standardized testing is a hot topic in schools today. Many parents, students, educators, and administrators focus on standardized tests. As stated in Popham's article, "Standardized achievement tests indicate how well a test taker has acquired knowledge and mastered certain skills" (2005). These tests measure which percentile a student falls to. During my undergraduate program, I had a teacher spend multiple class periods on how to read standardized tests and how to explain them to the parents. Personally, I do not like standardized tests. I believe they do not accurately measure how well a student is able to comprehend the material. Often times these tests are set up to trick the student, which I believe doesn't measure their learning. If they are able to perform the steps of a multi-step math problem, but accidentally switch a number, there answer is wrong. This student clearly understands the process, just made an error. Standardized tests not only put an enormous amount of pressure on the students, but "educators must guess about which of this multitude of content standards will actually be assessed on a given year's test" (2005). I've seen many teachers just teach to the test instead of focusing on meeting the needs of the students.
Reference:
Popham, W. J. (2005, March 23). Standardized testing fails the exam. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/f-for-assessment
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