Standardized tests are used in different ways by different interest groups, in particular the educational system. In the primary educational system, standardized tests are used to determine comprehension of subjects that educators feel a student of a certain level should know. Standardized tests are used by colleges and university to predict student performance. For whatever reason they are used, they are not the be all and end all. They should not be thought of as such. Standardized tests are only one tool in a box of tools. .
Most people who want to go onto college are generally required to take a standardized test. Primary schools use standardized tests to assess scholastic achievement and to determine student placement in classes. But, how well do they work? Critics of standardized testing argue that the tests do not take into account for differences in social and economic backgrounds among test-takers. They also argue that they do not assess the performance of female students (Encarta). .
When dealing with any type of tests the first two questions you must ask of the test are, is it accurate and is it reliable? .
According to economist John bishop of Cornell University they are. He analyzed the results of of a mathematics and science study conducted between 1994 and 1995. The results showed "that students from countries that had standardized mandatory exams did significantly better than those from countries that lack such tests" (Koretz 291). Now it could be argued that the countries that Bishop compared were a first world country and a third world country. Obviously results would be drastically different. However bishop went on to compare provinces in Canada that both required standardized test against those who did not. He found that, "students from Canadian provinces mandating standard curriculum-based exams significantly outperformed students from provinces that lacked such tests"(Koretz 292).
