Standardized Testing

Dear Future President,

In our country, there are many problems that need to be fixed this term. One of these problems is the issue of standardized testing. In school, kids must take standardized tests throughout the year to show the teacher how well they are doing in that subject. The only problem is, this is not working. Standardized testing is not beneficial to a student’s education.

Standardized tests need to be removed from the school curriculum, or at the very least, improved upon. Some students don’t do as well on tests as they do on their schoolwork. In class, they have plenty of time to work on their assignment, they might get points for doing the work, but it won’t majorly affect their grade if they don’t do well on it. Tests, however, will majorly affect a student’s grade if they do poorly. Standardized tests cause unnecessary stress on kids to do well on their tests when the tests aren’t even necessary. The tests are unnecessary because students forget what they just learned after they take the test. The teachers usually don’t revisit the lesson they just taught once students take the test, and it is soon forgotten. Students get stressed out by the tests because they feel like they have to do good on the them. Which they do, but the only thing it’s good for is their grade, but if they were removed, it wouldn’t matter. The unit is usually not revisited so they go on from what they learned and teach the students the next unit. Even teachers feel pressured to teach kids by a deadline. Since the teachers feel pressured, they don’t teach the kids as efficiently and rush through the subject. This doesn’t help them learn in a way that will help them actually learn about what they are being taught instead of just learning what the teacher tells them and forgetting about it. The National Research Council did a study on standardized testing and found no evidence to support that standardized testing helped benefit a student's education. Even though the tests have been used for decades, there is still no evidence that shows positive effects of the tests. This is clearly an issue that needs to be addressed,

This problem can be fixed by removing standardized testing from the school curriculum, or giving less out during the year. If standardized testing is removed from school, kids will not be stressed to study everything in time for the test. Teachers could take the time to learn new ways to teach kids to help them remember what they learned and help them enjoy school more. Kids that (for example) have trouble reading or speaking English find these tests extremely unfair, due to the fact that they have to take them despite their disability. If the tests are removed, then those kids will be able to learn without the pressure of the test behind every lesson. Even parents have complained about the pressure their children are under with these tests. If there are less tests throughout the year, then it would be less stress, and the tests would still show what the students learned during the lesson. There are even some benefits that aren’t as academic as they are personal. If students have less tests, they might be able to spend more time with their family instead of studying for their test. I’m not just saying that because I myself am a student, but for the future students of America. So please future President, consider taking standardized testing out of the education system. It would benefit everyone.