Standardized Tests Should be Reduced
Public schools are having students take way too many standardized tests.
Dear future president,
The amount of standardized test U.S. public schools students take has exploded in the past decade. This is a major problem that needs to be fixed. In the classroom, instead of learning, these kids are studying for these standardized test without knowing it. The amount of standardized tests in public schools should be greatly reduced.
By the age of 18, students would have taken 112 standardized tests since preschool (Layton 1). These kids are being tested like little robots. Personally when I take a standardized test, I do not put a ton of effort in, because I know it does not count towards my grade. To add to that, standardized tests take so much time; around 2-3 hours. That is very harsh on the brain to be used for 2-3 hours straight with no break. On most of the test I take, I have no clue what they are asking of me me nor stuff I have learned. A teacher in Boston states that he spends more time grading tests than teaching his students. Also mentioned was an average 8th grader will test for 25.3 hours just for standardized test. Also, a preschooler will test for 4.1 hours (Layton 1). I do not understand why preschoolers have to be tested. I remember in preschool the only thing important to me was what I had for lunch and who I was going to play with on the playground, not worrying about taking tests that do not count towards my grade.
These tests have not helped students achieve in school. As procon.org states ,” After No Child Left Behind (NCLB) passed in 2002, trhe US slipped from 18th in the world in the wolrd on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to 31st place in 2009, with a similar drop in science and no change in reading,” (procon.org). So, if it had a major decrease why are we still pressuring ids to take these standardized tests? There is only one solution to this problem. The solution is that the students should take these tests but take fewer high quality ones than a ton of lower quality tests.
The US government needs to seriously consider this and maybe needs to change the law. These poor kids are spending way too much time testing rather than learning more important information. This problem can not be ignored for much longer and some one needs to take a stand and fix it.
Sincerely,
Audrey