School Testing Assesses Knowledge Gained and Gaps
Teachers teach content then test students. This cycle of teaching and testing is familiar to anyone who has been a student. Tests seek to see what students have learned. However, there can be other more complicated reasons as to why schools use tests.
At the school level, educators create tests to measure their students’ understanding of specific content or the effective application of critical thinking skills. Such tests are used to evaluate student learning, skill level growth and academic achievements at the end of an instructional period, such as the end of a project, unit, course, semester, program or school year. These tests are designed as summative assessments.
Summative Tests
According to the Glossary for Educational Reform, summative assessments are defined by three criteria:
” They are used to determine whether students have learned what they were expected to learn or to level or degree to which students have learned the material.
” They may be used to measure learning progress and achievement and to evaluate the effectiveness of educational programs. Tests may also measure student progress toward stated improvement goals or to determine student placement in programs.
” They are recorded as scores or grades for a student’s academic record for a report card or for admission to higher education.
Merit Scholars due to their results on this test, they are offered scholarships.
At the local, state, or national level, standardized tests are an additional form of summative assessments. The legislation passed in 2002 known as the No Child Left Behind Act mandated annual testing in every state. This testing was linked to federal funding of public schools.
Standardized Testing Pros and Cons
Those who support standardized tests see them as an objective measure of student performance. They support standardized testing as a way to hold public schools accountable to the taxpayers who fund the school or as a means to improve the curriculum in the future.
Those opposed to standardized testing see them as excessive. They dislike tests because tests demand time that could be used for instruction and innovation. They claim that schools are under pressure to “teach to the test,” a practice that could limit the curricula. Moreover, they argue that non-English speakers and students with special needs may be at a disadvantage when they take standardized tests.
Finally, testing can increase anxiety in some, if not all, students. Dreading a test may be connected to the idea that a test can be a trial by fire: Indeed, the meaning of the word test came from the 14th-century practice of using fire to heat a small earthen pot called testum in Latin-to determine the quality of precious metal. In this way, the process of testing uncovers the quality of a student’s academic achievement.
Many people say standardized testing provides an accurate measurement of student performance and teacher effectiveness. Others say such a one-size-fits-all approach to assessing academic achievement can be inflexible or even biased. Regardless of t he diversity of opinion, there are some common arguments for and against standardized testing in the classroom.
Proponents of standardized testing say that it is the best means of comparing data from a diverse population, allowing educators to digest large amounts of information quickly. They argue that: It’s accountable. Probably the greatest benefit of standardized testing is that educators and schools are responsible for teaching students what they are required to know for the se standardized tests. This is mostly because these scores become public record, and teachers and schools that don’t perform up to par can come under intense examination. This scrutiny can lead to the loss of jobs. In some cases, a school can be closed or taken over by the state.
