Arguments Against Standardized Testing Research

An American educator who was examining the British educational system once asked a headmaster why so little standardized testing took place in British schools. "My dear fellow," came the reply, "In Britain we are of the belief that, when a child is hungry, he should be fed, not weighed" (Bowers 1). Even though this quote can be construed as being comical and light-hearted, the anecdote suggests the obvious question: "Why do we do so much standardized testing in the United States?" Standardized testing places incredible amounts of stress on teachers and school administrators, as well as the students taking the tests who are afraid that if they don't pass this exam, they might not be able to graduate. Standardized testing does not take in to …show more content…
When asked what she thought of tests such as the SAT, she said "I think the SAT is good for students who want to pursue an education in areas relating to math, science, or reading, but as far as people like me who wanted to pursue a career in art, the test was pointless yet I still had to take it to get in to college." It is true that no standardized test to date scores people on their artistic abilities. One might argue that the SAT is required because if you cannot do well on that, then you obviously don't have all the knowledge it takes to be a productive citizen. However, a student cannot graduate with failing grades in all of their classes. Teacher responds with, "therefore, why does a student who plans on majoring in Art have to know how to divide the square root of x by the absolute value of seven times forty-three? It just doesn't really make a whole lot of sense to me." It might sound funny, but I believe this to be very true. I too do not understand why a student that is one hundred percent sure that they want to major in an art related field has to take the SAT's to be able to get in to a good …show more content…
The approach of portfolio-based testing may vary, but they all rest on records kept by the teacher and on collections of a student's work over their years in school. During every school year, teachers collect important projects such as term papers, final exams, and lab reports. This cumulative portfolio shows the progress in specific courses. Students are also encouraged to reflect on the work that has been selected. Such reflection helps students think not only about what they have learned, but about their own learning processes as well. Portfolio-based assessment can also help students who do not wish to major in something that is related to only math, English, and science (the subjects that are on standardized tests). For example, if a student wants to be an art teacher, along with all of the more "academic" subjects in their portfolio, that particular student would have included their best art projects from over the years which would show how they have matured as an artist. This would give their desired college an actual look at their artwork, and help determine their acceptance to the