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Alexis Miller

Professor Barnes

English 1201-504

2 May 2021

Does Standardized Test Measure The True Abilities of Students?

Standardized testing is something that most students dread. The standardized tests are

set in place by each state to get a gauge on how much a child knows but also to see how well

the teachers in each district are teaching. Standardized tests became mandatory in 1965 and in

2001 the No Child Left Behind Act made sure to help fund money for every state to make sure

every child takes a standardized test. Standardized testing is a dreaded task by administrators

and the students who have to take them. The tests are a measure of everything they have

learned in a student's academic career and then some. Many teachers have to pound

information into students' heads in the hope they remember when it comes to testing time. Many

students struggle when taking these types of tests for various reasons, therefore, standardized

tests do not show an accurate measure of a student's abilities because various factors stop

them from achieving their best.

The first reason standardized testing does not measure students’ abilities is that the

tests do not meet all accommodations for students’ needs. Many students face academic

struggles such as dyslexia, autism, processing disorders, nonverbal learning disabilities, etc.

Many of those affected by learning disabilities are not given accommodations because the test

has strict rules and regulations to make every student have a fair chance of success, but this

isn't the case. The standardized test “is to be delivered in the same way to all students so that

no students are advantaged or disadvantaged. The last standardization is time allotment. All

students are to be given the same amount of time to finish the exam” (Poulsen and Hewson).

Those affected by learning disabilities often struggle with reading and interpreting the
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information given quickly. The students affected often need time to pick apart what they are

given and examine the question another way. However, these students cannot do this because

they only have an allotted time and once that time is up, done or not, the test must be turned in

to be graded.

There are often students who get the test read aloud to them but it is only read to them,

not helped with understanding what is being asked. This article goes on to state, “for the test to

be fair in the sense of all students having the same chance to answer each question correctly,

all questions must be the same” (Poulsen and Hewson). Those with learning disabilities may

have difficulty retaining as much information as those who do not have learning disabilities.

Everyone may have the same questions, which sounds fair, but some students have a higher

ability than others while some may have lower abilities in academics. Those students who are

smarter may think the question is easy to understand and interpret while those that are affected

by learning disabilities may think it is super hard to understand. The questions are made for

everyone to answer fairly and all have the same chance of answering the questions right. The

standardized tests do not take into account that all students are different, and all students have

different needs when taking tests. The needs of those with learning disabilities are not met when

taking standardized tests resulting in those students not showing their true potential on tests

because the test is made for everyone to have an equal chance.

Also, different minority groups and genders struggle to show their true intelligence on

standardized tests. Many minorities have access to different academic tools. Those in higher

socioeconomic classes have more access to study materials and tutors to help prepare them for

these tests rather than those in lower socioeconomic classes. For example, “Black and brown

students often come from lower-income families compared to their white counterparts,

preventing them from being able to afford private tutors and SAT and ACT classes.” (MoCo
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Students). As mentioned above, socioeconomic status plays a factor in how well a student may

do on the tests. Having access to study materials and private tutors helps students get an

understanding of what to expect on the test. On the other hand, those students who did not

benefit from test preparation show up to take the test and are already at a disadvantage.

Some high schools offer ACT classes, and other schools do not. Those students who

take this class learn tips and tricks to help them do well on the test. Work done by “researchers

posit that years of differential gender treatment in math learning may account for gradually

enlarging performance differences from elementary to high school years” (Liu). Socioeconomic

status is not the only potential barrier to students not doing well on standardized tests. A

student’s gender can also become a factor in one’s performance on a test. Boys and girls may

be taught differently in certain classes. Boys may do better in a class with a male teacher while

girls may do better with a female teacher. Every student should be taught equally, no matter the

gender. Every student needs to have the same equal opportunities as those of the opposite

gender. If a boy is taught more in-depth in a certain subject than a girl, then these boys are

automatically at an advantage. The students are not taught equally. Those given a more

in-depth understanding of certain subjects because of certain factors such as money or gender

are at an advantage for taking these tests. The tests are to be given for every student to take

them and have an equal chance, but when some already know what to expect while others do

not some are already at an advantage while others are at a disadvantage.

Furthermore, standardized tests measure the intelligence of students in everything they

have learned in their academic career which causes stress on teachers by making them teach

everything again. Standardized tests not only test the students but also shows how well

students are being taught in school by their teachers. There has been “evidence that indicates

that a large number of teachers either themselves contemplated leaving the profession or knew
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others who had done so because of standardized testing pressure” (Youn). With finding

teachers already being hard enough, many teachers struggle to deal with the standardized tests

as well. The educator's jobs are to teach certain subjects and as the students continue through

their school careers the teachers start to teach more specific subjects.

Come test time, many teachers have to teach other subjects to help prepare students

for these types of tests. These assessments contain everything learned and many of these

things are forgotten about so the teachers have to pound information into the student's heads in

hopes they remember it. Many researchers believe “these exams are so imperative in the world

of education, it hinders the learning experience as people start “teaching the test” instead of

fostering a challenging and critical learning environment. Standardized testing has only created

a bunch of anxious students and teachers scrambling to master a test that they most likely will

not find a use for in the “real world” (MoCo Students). Like mentioned before, rather than

retaining information and mastering it, students are scrambling to try and relearn information

that could have been taught at any point in their academic careers.

The students are tested and they may not do as well because of everything being asked

they may not remember learning or they have never seen. Teachers only have roughly 180

days, give or take, to teach their students everything they need to know. Many students just

remember the information long enough to take the test and then forget about it and move on to

the next lessons. Teachers can only teach so much and while the tests are there to measure a

student's abilities, it cannot be fair when some of the information is from many years ago.

Students are being asked to retain and remember information from their whole academic

careers and teachers are there pounding more information in. Standardized tests do not

measure how much students know, they measure how much students remember.
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In a personal interview with Ron Neanen, former guidance counselor and educator at

Eaton Highschool, he talked about his opinions on how these standardized tests affect students

and staff members. While he said he sees why they are given he had many thoughts on why he

thinks they are not beneficial. Neanen went on to state, “These types of tests are given to gain a

better understanding of what students know, but when they are constantly learning new

information it is hard to memorize and remember it come test time” (Neanen). He proctored

many ACT’s given at Eaton Highschool and witnessed firsthand just how these types of tests

affect everyone.

Later in the interview, Mr. Neanen stated, “I feel bad for the administrators. They have a

lot of stress put on them to make sure their students perform well. How well their students do

shows how well they are teaching in their classrooms” (Neanen). The test scores are given to

the schools to show just how well their educators are teaching students and what areas they are

excelling in and which areas need improvement. The students determine this, but when children

are taking these tests they may not perform well or they may not be doing their work.

Standardized tests do not measure student's abilities in just one test, but one test reflects how

well the students are being taught. Some factors can set back a child from achieving their best

and if they do badly on one exam, that falls back on the teachers not teaching well enough

which is not fair to the students or teachers.

In current times, the United States is in a pandemic. This resulted in many schools going

remote which meant students were not taking as many standardized tests. Some students still

took AP Exams at home, but this is not a true measure of what they know because many

students could have cheated. Before the pandemic even occurred, cheating on standardized

tests has always been a thing. While the administrators and makers of the test try to reduce this

problem it always occurs. Students may look at the surrounding students' questions and copy
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their answers because they do not have confidence in their answers. While some standardized

tests try to find ways to reduce this by using letter systems and filling in the correct bubbles,

some may still match the answers up. If students are cheating then the standardized test most

definitely does not measure the abilities of students.

Many colleges and universities went away with viewing and requiring students to provide

their ACT or SAT scores when applying for college. This became a more popular thing once the

pandemic hit because not everyone had taken or retaken these types of exams. Before the

pandemic had taken effect, the University of California had already not required standardized

testing such as the ACT or the SAT. The board had “already unanimously voted to not require

the SAT or ACT on student application as a lawsuit claims they are “deeply biased and provide

no meaningful information about a student’s ability to succeed.” (MoCo Students). With the

research, it shows that a lot colleges and universities view standardized testing as not a true

measure of their student's true knowledge. With some colleges and universities already getting

rid of standardized testing and having students excel in school, it makes the future of

standardized testing nonexistent.

To add on, standardized testing only determines how well students are at taking tests.

When test time arrives, many students’ nerves and worries may wreak havoc on their minds and

cause them to experience test anxiety and panic. These types of children are facing something

known as test anxiety, which is a common thing. With test anxiety, it interferes with a test taker

mentally and physically. Mentally the person may forget information or endure brain fog.

Physically, a student may get headaches or start to panic and have a hard time breathing. When

this occurs, a student cannot leave the classroom or test area to calm down and relax, they

have to continue with the test. This means they are already at a disadvantage because they

mentally and physically are not in the right mindset to even take a test.
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Other factors that also affect student's ability to perform effectively are hunger, sickness,

tiredness. Many students go through situations out of their control and have many things going

on that educators and test makers do not take into consideration. If a child is homeless, they

may have no access to food, and taking a test on an empty stomach is truly unfair. To continue,

many students may have to help provide for their families and work to help pay bills. With some

students having to handle family responsibilities and inflexible work schedules after school,

there are often students who are very tired and drowsy when they take these tests. This means

their brains are not functioning properly. These are factors that provide sufficient evidence that

standardized testing does not measure student's abilities because some students may take the

test in unfair physical and mental states.

Concerning standardized tests not measuring the true abilities of students, one test can

never capture how much a student knows and understands. Students are tested repeatedly

throughout their lifetime while in school. There are state tests that students take to pass a

certain grade, such as the third-grade retention test. This determines if third grades need to be

retained or if they move on to the fourth grade. Other examples are end-of-course exams and

the ACT and SAT. Valerie Strauss stated in The Washington Post, “The average student in

America’s big-city public schools was then taking some 112 mandatory standardized tests

between pre-kindergarten and the end of 12th grade — an average of about eight a year, the

study said. Those were on top of teacher-written tests” (Strauss). This evidence supports that

many students are taking too many tests. These children will hit a point where they rush through

exams and even just are so tired of doing exams that they have brain fog causing them to not

achieve excellence on these exams which does not show their true potential on these exams.
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School is more than learning just the basic curriculum. School is a place to make friends,

find hobbies, and grow as a person and student. When taking these tests, it does not show just

how much students know outside of the curriculum. In Nikki Adelis's speech “Why Standardized

Tests Don’t Measure”, she states, “Scantrons don’t measure higher-order thinking. They don’t

measure creativity or innovation... The value and the purpose of schools are to grow citizens.

And this city is to be a multitude of personalities; it’s someone open-minded, knowledgeable,

someone, who in the long-run can give back to their community” (Guay). We want to educate

children in schools yet also help them grow outside of the classroom. These tests often define

them; this should not be the case. Test scores do not define students. Many people do not do

well on standardized tests and still make something of themselves in their futures even if the

test scores say otherwise. The test scores do not always show students other knowledge on

certain subjects. Many students are not interested in the regular curriculum and need more

hands-on work such as trades. If a standardized test does not have information about these

students' interests then the test makers are setting these types of children up for failure.

Contrary to the disadvantages of standardized testing, these types of tests make

teachers teach at a higher level of intensity. They do this to help prepare students for these

types of tests. The teachers may do extensive lectures over a heavy amount of curriculum but

more in-depth so the students can learn or even relearn the material. Louise Gaille stated,

“Good teachers understand that test preparation drills and specific core instructions to “teach to

a test” are not the best way to encourage learning” (Gaille). Good teachers find other ways to

prepare their students for tests. Test time is not fun, but helping children remember curriculum

from the past is a necessity. These types of teachers create methods that ensure the children

will remember and retain material rather than just trying to teach the standardized tests.

However, while the teachers may try and teach better, they are under a lot of pressure because

the test scores reflect how well the students are being taught in the classroom. When a lot of
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pressure is applied to the educators, they may not always be teaching in beneficial ways.

Rather they are teaching the information in ways that make the kids try and remember the

material. The material is being pounded and forced into the student's heads in hopes they

remember is come test time. In addition, if a child does poorly on the exams, it does not always

portray how well a teacher is teaching. These students could be missing a large amount of

school or that specific class, the students could have not been paying attention when being

taught the material, and the students could even face factors that cause them to do poorly such

as test anxiety, tiredness, and learning disabilities. Every student learns differently and the

teachers only have so many days they can teach a student before test day comes, but students'

performance on the test can always show their true intelligence. Teachers are under pressure to

teach old and new material to prepare their students, yet their teaching does not always benefit

children come test time.

Furthermore, standardized tests allow for equal opportunity on every test. Every test

taker is given the same questions and the same amount of time to complete the test. This

ensures fairness and equal opportunity for success for every student. They want to measure

how much a child knows and having one test that is the same shows the true knowledge of the

test takers. However, standardized tests do not always consider learning disabilities. With

everyone having an equal opportunity of success, those affected by learning disabilities do not

receive accommodations when taking these types of tests which puts them at a disadvantage.

When a child has learning disabilities they may take a longer time to process and comprehend

the questions being asked. With the processing and comprehending taking longer, these types

of students have less time on the rest of the test. When standardized tests are made and given,

the students with learning disabilities struggle and are put at a disadvantage because their

learning disabilities are not thought of. When this occurs, these students are being set up for

failure and not truly showing their true potential.

In conclusion, standardized testing does not measure the true abilities of students.

These tests put a lot of pressure on teachers and students. Every student is different in their

abilities to retain information and then perform on an exam. Standardized are set in place to

measure every student's abilities at an equal opportunity. These tests do not take into account

learning disabilities, factors of test anxiety, poor teaching, etc. If standardized tests are to be

equal and fair, then everyone should be taught the same information, those who need

accommodations get them, and those who face outside factors are taken into consideration.

Standardized tests do not measure the ability of students because there are reasons a student

may not do well on the exam. These types of tests cause lots of pressure on students, and with

all the pressure, students can not show their true abilities on standardized tests. In figure 1,

listed below, you will see just how many parents and teachers agree with standardardized

testing and how many are against it. One single test does not define students' abilities, so why

does the government still require them for everyone to take?

Works Cited

Gaille, Louise. “12 Advantages and Disadvantages of Standardized Testing.” Vittanna, 19 April

2017, https://vittana.org/12-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-standardized-testing.

Accessed 28 March 2021.

Guay, Kaitlyn. “Why Standardized Tests Don’t Measure.” Christa McAuliffe Academy School of

Arts and Sciences, https://www.cmasas.org/what-standardized-tests-dont-measure.

Accessed 28 March 2021.

Hewson, Kurtis & Dr. John Poulsen. “Standardized Testing: Fair or Not?” University of

Lethinburg, https://www.uleth.ca/teachingcentre/standardized-testing-fair-or-not.

Accessed 28 March 2021.

Neanen, Ron. Personal interview. 7 March 2021.

OuLydia, Lui. “ An Investigation of Factors Affecting Gender Differences in Standardized Math

Performance: Results from U.S. and Hong Kong 15 Year Olds.” International Journal of

Testing. 2009, Vol. 9 Issue 3,

https://eds-a-ebscohost-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&sid=48

aa7dcd-d0aa-4c14-9651-00ef09ec2287%40sessionmgr101. Accessed 28 March 2021.

Strauss, Valerie. “It Looks Like The Beginning of The End of America’s Obsession With Student

Standardized Tests.” The Washington Post, The Washington Post, 21 June 2020,

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/06/21/it-looks-like-beginning-end-ameri

as-obsession-with-student-standardized-tests/. Accessed 28 March 2021.

The MoCo Students. “Opinion: Standardized Testing Should Be Abolished.” The Moco Students

News For Montgomery County Youth, 10 October 2020,

https://mocostudent.org/2020/10/opinion-standardized-testing-should-be-abolished/.

Accessed 28 March 2021.

Youn, Minjong. “The influence of standardized testing pressure on teachers' working

environment.” KEDI Journal of Educational Policy. 2018, Vol. 15 Issue 2,

https://eds-b-ebscohost-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=db

25675e-f50f-4333-a469-07062b556df1%40sessionmgr4007. Accessed 28 March 2021.