Stanardized testing

Supporters of standardized testing believe that the tests benefit students, parents and teachers. (Mills, 2001) In New York a few years ago, public outcry was that children were not being taught enough in school. High school students were receiving their diplomas by passing courses designed for eighth graders (Mills 2001). The Board of Regents decided action needed be taken, so they decided to raise the standards for English, mathematics, sciences and social studies. The Regents would serve as a measuring stick as to which students retained the information, and which ones did not meet the set standards. New York state Education Commissioner Richard

As for the argument that standardized testing is shortening the gap of achievers and underachievers, the opposition only needs to look at the 2000 Third International Mathematics and Science Study to back up their claims that the tests serve no positive purpose. In the test, conducted in 38 nations, American middle school students were seventeenth in math and eighteenth in science. What is worse that a comparison to a similar study conducted in 1995 shows little or no improvement. Also found in the study was that 77% of New York eight graders failed to even meet state standards in math.(Shin, 2000) At the same time, the New York Board of Regents continues to attempt to raise standards.

In my opinion, standardized testing could serve a purpose in education, though in a limited form. If teachers were allowed to experiment with different teaching styles, and new ways of learning, then students will ultimately learn more. The students will be able to use a variety of skills developed in the classroom, such as problem solving, writing and speaking, in college and ultimately in the real world. The standardized tests could serve as a way to monitor progress, but not the high stakes exams that they are today. Teachers and school officials could help those who have fallen behind, and attempt to get them up to speed without disrupting flow of understanding for the students that do follow. The fate of graduation to be relied up the passing of a test, with total disregards of four years of effort is wrong. These years of schooling greatl

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