Trey Grigg English 1102-070

Academic Essay

In the field of education, there is a controversial argument when it comes to the most efficient way of determining the progress or success of a student. The standard that we have grown into is called standardized testing. The success of an individual is evaluated by a either a single or multiple tests for almost any course. If you did well on a test, then you advance to the next course. If you did not do so well, then the course has to be retaken up to multiple times before you can progress. The argument being made on this topic is that not everybody is a good test taker although they may know the course material well; testing is something a lot of people struggle with. A lot of factors come into play when the testing environment is established in a classroom. These factors are continuously being argued and discussed to determine the best use of standardized testing. I know from a personal experience that testing is a very difficult thing for me. It is actually my biggest issue when it comes to school. I seem to understand and take in the course material at a decent rate, but testing is just intimidating. There are too many instances where I get discouraged by the wording or even the time limit on tests. The biggest feared test was the SAT I took my senior year in high school. I knew so much was at stake at the time and it only made that test even harder. I always seem to study the wrong things, or over study and end up going brain dead when the actual test comes. My learning style seems to be affected by my instructors teaching style. Thats at least what I have discovered. Keshia Weaver backs me up on this when she mentions Not every students learning habits are the same, so various teaching styles must be implemented for an efficient spread of learning (Weaver). Weaver also mentions the struggle between teaching for students to learn and apply, and teaching for students to pass

Trey Grigg English 1102-070

the test. Many students get acquainted with what the test will be like, so the test is being studied more than the actual material. Weaver explains how this takes away from the application process of the material. Another thing I struggle with right before the test is cramming. I find myself and many of my fellow peers trying to study everything right before the test. This causes a long term problem down the road. Memorization is the key to being successful in school, and when you become a crammer, it is hard to retain all the necessary material for the courses later to come. Weaver would also back up this statement by saying Students will not only study last minute and cheat the system for testing, but they will more importantly cheat their selves in the long run (Weaver). Only certain subjects such as science, English, and even physics would be courses that I would think needs more than just a test to determine success. Sherry Southerland would agree by saying that Theres more to science than just testing (Southerland). Southerland discusses how many teachers dont change their styles to benefit the students way of learning, but to make it to where the material being taught is exactly what is on the test. That seems to be a huge problem in the education system today. Southerland focuses on how this is a very popular effect in the field of science. She also discusses the idea of labs and how there should be more to determining the success of a student than just a test. Science is a course where application of material is needed. Testing can only go so far in a course like this. To establish a good understanding of a course, an oral presentation, a hands-on experiment, or even a good visual can be used to express the knowledge that a student has in a course. Standardized testing seems to take away from that. Douglas Archbald would disagree and explain that Standardized tests should not be criticized for something they have no intentions on doing (Archbald). Douglas thinks that these tests had a specific purpose, even though he admits to the failures of

Trey Grigg English 1102-070

standardized testing. Douglas doesnt know what a perfect solution would be to correcting standardized testing, because he thinks that there is nothing wrong with how they are being used to begin with. He mentions the ease of standardized testing and how efficient they are at determining success for large amounts of students. Not everyone would agree with Douglas on this. Mark Garrison is one that despises standardized testing and notices the failures in it. Garrison said Standardized testing is the number one reason for social inequalities throughout the school system (Garrison). Mark explains how the education is becoming more and more controlled by the government. Garrison says I like to think of standardized testing as not being a way to improve education, but to control it (Garrison). He explains how this kind of testing eliminates the few with social inequalities and discourages many of the students that are very well rounded. The No Child Left Behind Act is humorous to Garrison because he thinks that this is the exacts opposite of what is being done in America. One alternative that Garrison suggests is to replace these high risk tests is by introducing Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences so that a vast range of human abilities and achievement can be considered (Garrison). Garrison sure does point out the social flaws in standardized testing and also takes a political stance at it as well. I can very well correlate to each source and see where they stand on this topic. I have had a bad experience with standardized testing in my years of school, and have yet to find a strong solid view that backs up this kind of testing. A different approach to teaching would be to try and become more personal and work one-on-one with the student. This seems to benefit me more because I can express myself without the discouragement from others. Everybody learns differently though, so this is just a trial and error type of problem to work on.

Trey Grigg English 1102-070

Archbald, Douglas A, and Fred M. Newmann. Beyond Standardized Testing: Assessing Authentic Academic Achievement in the Secondary School. Reston, Va: National Association of Secondary School Principals, 1988. Print. Aydeniz, Mehmet, and Sherry A. Southerland. "A National Survey Of Middle And High School Science Teachers' Responses To Standardized Testing: Is Science Being Devalued In Schools?." Journal Of Science Teacher Education 23.3 (2012): 233-257. ERIC. Web. 17 Mar. 2013. Garrison, Mark J. A Measure of Failure: The Political Origins of Standardized Testing. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2009. Print. Standardized Testing Issues: Teachers' Perspectives. Washington: National Education Association, 1977. Print. Weaver, Keshia. Standardized Testing: Measurement Of Academic Achievement. Online Submission (2011): ERIC. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.