Standardized Testing

What can one test really tell someone about a student's academic performance? Not only does standardized testing take away from learning time in the classroom, but it can also cause a lot of stress, especially in younger children. To begin with, standardized tests are unfair and discriminatory against non English speakers who are still learning the language, and people with learning disabilities. They also only measure a small portion of what makes education meaningful. Although the makers of these tests try to narrow down the questions to the basics that every child needs to master, not everyone has had the same education so it is basically all based on the school and environment the student is in, which most of the time they cannot control. The results of standardized testing can mean a lot to children, their parents, and their school and the way they are being done is unfair. I feel like recently they have tried to make testing more based on the students knowledge rather than what the student doesn't know, but in the end a score is still a score and the number is all people tend to focus on.