Standarized Testing

Standerized Testing is it good or is it bad for our school and childern today? My view on standerized test is that they are good for determining the progress of a single child or a single district. But they are used to determine how one school compairs to another. For example a smaller school would be compaired to a school three times in size. The government would look at this and determine a goal for both schools even though one school is three times bigger.

Standerized test have also been used to track students, allocate school funds, and even determine a teachers pay. But standerized test can adequatly determine a students strengths and weaknessesand his/her aptitude for certain abilities. The score a student gets on his/her SAT is said to be a good indicator of their performance in the first year of college. The IQ test indicates how well he/she can solve certain problems. The many different test are helpful to teachers in determining how students are performing compared to a similar group of students.

Teachers may use standerized test scores to determine the learning abilities of their students as well as test what their students have mastered in a certain subject. The test provide a measure of student achievement. But this test is only one measure of achievement. Test can be used to determine course placement or retention, but not as a sole determinant. Standerized test have been critisized because of their limitations and their influence. Standerized test should be used by teachers to determine a students strengths and weaknesses in comparision to other students of the same grade level. The teachers then can provide assistants to those who are struggling and give enrichment opportunities for those who are excelling.