The Ups and Downs of Standardized Testing

Most of us experienced standardized testing in elementary school and may have a lot of mixed emotions at the thought of it. However, what really matters, is if it is really benefitting our students or doing more harm than good. The main purpose of standardized testing is to gauge exactly where a student is academically and whether or not they learned the right amount during a school year. But this could be unfair to students who may be brilliant but are unable to take a test under pressure. Standardized testing determines how well students can take a test, and Britannica has an interesting article in regards to this concern. Britannic mentions the No Child Left behind act, which was introduced in 2002.

A photo of a standardized test scantron.

This caused the use of standardized testing to skyrocket. The purpose of this act is to ensure every child receives a well-rounded education and lets educators know their understanding of the material they learned that year.

I believe that educators and the government need to rethink their usage of standardized testing. It can be harmful to some students and discourage them when they see a bad score even though they excelled in their coursework. I think there should be a more fair, well-rounded, year-long approach to assessing students. It could even be done without their knowledge.