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Research Paper: Standardized Tests

Research Paper: Standardized Tests

Katelyn Capps
Professor Wyatt
EDUC 250
03 April 2015

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Research Paper: Standardized Tests

Imagine sitting in a small desk. You are so nervous your palms are sweating. If you do
not pass this test, you could be held back a grade. The teacher stresses how important it is to
pass; she even seems stressed out. The results of the test will determine if you are a success or a
failure. There is no time to day dream because each section of the test is timed. All you can do is
stare at the clock and calculate how many minutes you have left. Believe it or not, this anxiety is
a real reality for some students. Standardized testing puts a huge amount of stress on students,
teachers, and the school districts.
Standardized tests were created to hold teachers and schools accountable. Legislatures
determined this was the best way to evaluate if students were learning what they should be.
While school districts do not have to give annual achievement tests, they may lose funding if
they do not. Additionally, many states have linked teacher compensation to test performance. Not
only is the stressful for teachers, it become stressful for school districts. Overall, if a school is not
performing well on annual exams for five consecutive years, they are at risk for being shut down
(Thompson).
Now, teachers are held accountable if a student does not perform well on the test. Factors
such as lack of sleep, issues at home, and many other external factors are not considered.
Ultimately, there is a huge responsibility on a teacher to make sure his/her students do well on
the test. In some cases, poor performances can lead to losing a job (Columbia University, 2013).
Many proponents of standardized testing say that the tests help guide teachers in what to
teach students. This would result in less wasted instructional time (Columbia University, 2013).
The downfall to this theory is that teachers begin to teach material only on the test. Columbia
University gives a great rebuttal, stating that:

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Research Paper: Standardized Tests

This practice can hinder a students overall learning potential. With the stakes getting
higher and higher for teachers, this practice will only continue to increase. The sad reality
is that it fosters an atmosphere that is boring and lacks creativeness. Teachers have such
pressure to get their students ready for these exams that they neglect to teach students
skills that go beyond the tests (Columbia University, 2013).
Many life skills are no longer taught in schools since it would take up too much instructional
time to teach. Teachers feel bombarded with all the material that is need to be taught, they do not
have time to teach fun and engaging activities that may better reinforce the material. It is no
surprise that many teachers are leaving the field as requirements and teacher salary change.
The stress students experience on standardized tests is a great example of the trickledown effect. The state puts pressure on school districts, who pressures teachers, who pressures
students. Many students can feel like a failure when test results come in. If they did not pass, or
score as high as their friends, they feel ashamed. I can personally attest to this as I always felt left
out when all my friends received Pass+ on the ISTEP and I was a few points shy. A students
success should not be determined by an annual exam which caters to only specific types of
learners.
Additionally, some students now only want to learn what is on the test. Take for example
when a teacher states, Listen up, this material will be on your state exams. It becomes habit for
a student to listen for material that is deemed appropriate to learn by the government, but if they
are not graded on it, who cares? There is a lot of knowledge that is beneficial for students to
learn that is not on the tests.

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Research Paper: Standardized Tests

Finally, some students are not exposed to the same experiences as others, which may
cause the questions to have a bias. Take for example this question from a 6th grade
achievement exam in science:
A plant's fruit always contains seeds. Which of the items below is not a fruit?
A. Orange
B. Pumpkin
C. Apple
D. Celery
UCLA Emeritus Professor, W. James Popham, quotes from his article Why Standardized Tests
Don't Measure Educational Quality that:
As any child who has encountered celery knows, celery is a seed-free plant. The right
answer, then, for those who have coped with celery's strings but never its seeds, is clearly
choice D. But what if when you were a youngster, your folks didn't have the money to
buy celery at the store? What if your circumstances simply did not give you the chance to
have meaningful interactions with celery stalks by the time you hit the 6th grade? How
well do you think you'd do in correctly answering the item in Figure 3? And how well
would you do if you didn't know that pumpkins were seed-carrying spheres? Clearly, if
children know about pumpkins and celery, they'll do better on this item than will those
children who know only about apples and oranges. That's how children's socioeconomic
status gets mixed up with children's performances on standardized achievement tests. The
higher your family's socioeconomic status is, the more likely you are to do well on a
number of the test items you'll encounter in such a test (Popham, 1999).
According to Professor Popham, standardized tests do favor a childs socioeconomic status; thus
therefore the tests contain a bias - whether intentional or not.

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Research Paper: Standardized Tests

It is no wonder that schools, teachers, and students are so stressed about standardized
tests. There is too much pressure associated with just a test. As it seems these exams are here to
stay, it is important for evaluators to look at the results with a grain of salt. Just like with many
other statistics, there are contributing factors that determine the outcome. If a student does not
score well on a standardized test, it does not mean that the student is uneducated or needs
remediation. All contributions should be considered before making changes to teacher
compensation, accountability, and funding.

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Research Paper: Standardized Tests

Bibliography
Popham, W. J. (1999). Why Standardized Tests Don't Measure Educational Quality. Retrieved
from ASCD: http://www.ascd.org/publications/educationalleadership/mar99/vol56/num06/Why-Standardized-Tests-Don't-Measure-EducationalQuality.aspx
Thompson, V. (n.d.). Do Standardized Test Scores Factor in to How Much Money a School Will
Receive? Retrieved from Global Post: http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/standardizedtest-scores-factor-much-money-school-receive-25534.html
Columbia University (2013). Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing . Retrieved from Columbia
University:
http://worklife.columbia.edu/files_worklife/public/Pros_and_Cons_of_Standardized_Test
ing_1.pdf