Killian 1 Claire Killian Ms.

Gardner English 10H 1 30 October 2013 Tyranny of Testing What do you think of when you hear the words standardized testing? From our very first STAR test in second grade to our last AP exam in May of our senior year, along with all the PSATs, SATs, and ACTs in between, these tests are omnipresent and taxing, especially when you factor in the mountain of homework we have. Students hoping to be accepted into a prestigious university must not only fret about their GPA, but about their scores on these exams. The SAT and the ACT exams cover a broad range of subjects and are an enormous factor in your acceptance to college. Colleges and universities are relying more heavily on an applicants SAT and ACT scores than ever before, creating more pressure on a student to do well. The STAR tests have become a popular way to judge a schools ability to teach its students, which is blatantly unfair because it does not account for demographics and ethics of students. The SAT Reasoning Test came into existence eighty-seven years ago in 1926. There were 315 questions one had to answer in a mere ninety minutes. In 1930, the verbal and math portions were added to the test and it was only recently that the written portion was added in 2005. The ACT was introduced in 1959 as a rival test to the SAT. The two tests are very similar except the SAT focuses on reasoning and logic while the ACT focuses on accumulated knowledge. STAR testing has been around for fifteen years, starting in 1998. It tests students in mathematics, science, English, and occasionally history throughout the majority of their education.

Killian 2 Even in the most intelligent, innovative, and industrious students, there are always those whose Achilless heel is tests. Standardized testing is not a good measure of aptitude and knowledge because some people become highly scatter-brained due to stress. Someone who is intelligent and achieves high grades could do poorly on the SAT or the ACT for a multitude of reasons, and because of that, they might not get into a top university. There is too much emphasis and reliance on the SAT and the ACT by the universities; while test taking is important, there are no multiple-choice tests in the real world. You have to be able to apply knowledge from various fields of studies to daily problems. For example, the application of both math and English is used daily in any lifestyle. The judgment of schools based on STAR tests, if looked upon closely, is imbalanced for example, simply looking at scores does not account for the demographics of a school, like whether it is in a low-income area or whether it is a high-tuition private school. The moral ethics of the individual students are not considered; many students put their best effort into the STAR tests, but there are some students who know it will not affect their grade in the class they are taking these exams, so they do not put any effort into their test, resulting in a poor test score that should not reflect upon the teacher because the teacher cannot force the student to try. I propose not to end these tests, but to put less emphasis on them. They are merely tests and your acceptance to a school should not depend on them. Rather, your GPA should be a bigger factor because it shows your comprehensive progress over four years of high school and the difficulty of the classes you are taking. STAR tests should be more carefully analyzed and schools should not be punished for poor test results. Colleges would probably disagree with this proposition because they have been using these tests as a role in the admittance process for ages and would not want to change their

Killian 3 formula. There are many people in our government who voted for the No Child Left Behind decree and would object heartily to the removal of assessing schools based on STAR tests. They might argue, If we cannot use the STAR tests, what can we use? I say this to you, my fellow students: together, we can change the way standardized testing is used in our society for the better. Think about it. We do not wake up for tests voluntarily. Tests wake us up involuntarily. Most of the time, this is from stress in the middle of the night when we are trying to capture those precious minutes of sleep that evade us. Standardized tests demand an impractical amount of your time in order to achieve even a decent score on them and if there was not so much riding on them, you would not be as stressed and there would be more time for school, athletics, clubs, and friends, time that would have otherwise been taken up by studying.