Why We Should End Standardized Testing | Teen Ink

Why We Should End Standardized Testing

October 17, 2017
By AustenLaFleur BRONZE, Houston, Texas
AustenLaFleur BRONZE, Houston, Texas
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Standardized testing is not needed and does not prove anything. It costs a lot, causes stress, and requires pretty well review. The testing costs at least 1.7 billion per year and is projected to go up even higher! The stress and anxiety on younger children is heart breaking. Not to mention, and or tutorials may need to be on your agenda.
    

To being with, testing is very expensive! According to the Huffington Post article, “Brown Center on Education policy totaled a combined cost of standardized testing and equals 1.7 billion per year”. That is a lot of money! Even with all the money spent on the system, at least 98,000 tests, something goes wrong and they have to rescan or hand grade which is time consuming.
     

Not to mention, the severe stress and anxiety on younger children is heartbreaking.  On March 14, 2002, the Sacramento Bee reported the test related jitters, especially among younger students, the Stanford 9 exam has instructions on what to do if a child vomits. A lot are catching bad stomach and panic attacks. Why should these tests ruin someones day?
    

Lastly, standardized testing should be more current. Why would we have to answer something that we learned a long time ago? They should be like a DCA test and be more current. Memorizing things from a year ago is very stressful and requires well memorization. Before you take a standardized test, make sure that you study and get extensive review and or tutorials.
    

To conclude, end of year testing costs a lot of money, causes severe stress, and requires well review and long and hard studying. Even though test taking percents of passing have gone up, what about the kids that do not pass? We should not just care about the children and pass and percent. Sometimes that extra help or 1 one 1 help actually helps. A few tests should not determine our potential of going to the next grade or being kicked out of college.


The author's comments:

What inspired me was how teens and children get so stressed out. These tests should not determine a very large amount in your education. These tests should not hold you back in the future and restrict you from doing certain things and going to certain colleges.


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This article has 1 comment.


on Oct. 25 2017 at 7:36 pm
WritingAddict03 SILVER, Saint Peters , Missouri
5 articles 0 photos 67 comments

Favorite Quote:
Everyone is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its whole life believing it is stupid. - Albert Einstein

First of all, let me congratulate you on a very well written piece, and let me say that as someone who knows the facts, I completely agree. I was homeschooled for six years before going to public school this year, and I've noticed, on a firsthand account, how students who are homeschooled are often much more academically and socially succesful for a number of reasons, and homeschoolers often don't take standardized tests unless absoloutly necessary. (This is not a reason that homeschoolers are typially more successful. This was just an example of the pointlessness of standardized testing. I also do not mean to put down students who are not homeschooled; it is just a scientificly proven fact. Public/parochial/private scool students can and many times are just as successful.) However, I do think you could have used a lot more evidence to support your claim, and you had some simple grammar and spelling mistakes; I'd recommend proofing more thoroughly. Overall, this was great piece, and I encourage you to write more!