The definition of the word test is “a basis for evaluation or judgment.” This is exactly how these standardized tests should be used, as a basis. A basis of how to make the Public School System more efficient, as opposed to a basis of whether or not a student should or should not pass a certain grade. “Standardized testing is currently used to the accountability function of using student scores to assess the effectiveness of teachers, schools, and even entire districts. (Robinson and Craver 1989).

There are a vast amount of ways for a student’s progress to be assessed in a classroom with standardized testing being just one of the procedures. The other major assessment tool is the teacher’s evaluation of the student. “Non- assessment is the traditional form of

Many non-advocates of standardized testing feel like this non standard assessment is the way to go in evaluating students, but just like most other methods this procedure has its’ faults. “These assessments may be accurate or they may be faulty, depending upon the teacher's skill as a judge of various indicators and their applicability to the question at hand. However, unrelated factors can affect this type of assessment. For instance, research has shown that good handwriting can influence grading on essays Student behavior and appearance can likewise prejudice assessment.” (Sanders, Horn)

What we should be doing is not so much looking at the standardized test but look at the system and students that we are testing. These standardized tests although not without faults, can be highly effective in improving the school system. More time and effort should spent on how, when, and who these tests should be given to rather then focusing on the test itself.

These schools cutting back on these extremely important aspects of a child’s curriculum are practicing “teaching to the test” which is another huge argument being presented against the administration of standardized tests. “This would n

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