Student Opinion: Standardized Tests Don’t Show Full Picture
Launch the media gallery 1 playerDuring the fall and winter, I take part in completing the MAP tests, just like the rest of our school. For me, these tests are one of the most dreadful parts of the school year. Something about sitting at the same desk, in the same classroom, and staring at the same screen for hours just doesn’t seem enticing to me. Every year standardized tests are taken by students across the country. As we are told, the standardized tests such as ACT, MAP, and in our state, NSCAS, are used as a way to assess and measure a student’s knowledge and skills.
Although standardized tests can be a precise way to measure what students are learning, these tests also seem to put pressure on students like myself. I feel as if, unfortunately, standardized tests are also looked at as a way of measuring student’s success.
However, as I reflect back on my testing scores, I know that they don't reflect the student I am. After staring at a computer screen for so long, I find myself losing focus, resulting in not doing my best which leads to an inaccurate score. I believe that these tests should be removed from the educational system. The inexactitude of standardized test scores for many students, leads to an inaccurate measure of how “successful” a student is.
While taking my practice ACT this semester, I found myself constantly worrying about how I was going to score and how my score would reflect my learning. As a student with exceptional grades, I wondered how my ability to take a long test would affect my score, more than my actual learning would. I feel that the ACT is used to evaluate the outcome of a student’s success. However, this shouldn’t be the case.
My test scores, along with many other students, are limited by the test taking anxiety that comes along with partaking in standardized tests. While taking my practice ACT, the time limit was a constant thought that I had during the test. Instead of taking my time to answer questions, I thought about how I would reach my full potential by answering all of the questions on time. This decreased my ability to actually use all of my time and weakened my score, ultimately leading to what others may consider an “unsuccessful” test score.
The decision-making process of colleges and universities is partially based on test scores, specifically the ACT. When comparing my grades with my test scores, they don’t match up. This proves to me, my point of how meaningless these standardized tests are. Instead of fulfilling the role of measuring a student’s knowledge and skills, they are leaning more towards a role of measuring success, which is not a positive thing.
Standardized tests don’t include the general skills that are needed in life after school. These are only the learning skills that students often forget about just shortly after these skills are learned. The material on the test has nothing to do with the basic life skills that people should have. Specifically, they don’t take account into the time, effort, and hard work a student is willing to put into their education. I believe this makes these tests an inaccurate representation of future success of a student.
Even though I think standardized tests will always play a huge part in America’s education system, I feel that they do not contribute to their initial point. These tests are serving the role of measuring future success instead of their intended role, which is strictly measuring knowledge. In reality, so many other factors predict future success. I am a student who has been negatively impacted by standardized tests. Although I think that they are unreasonable, standardized tests will unfortunately always be a dreadful part of school for me and many others.