My group and I decided to choose Standardized testing as our topic. While we gathered resources I came across several sources that suggested, formal high stakes standardized testing can be traced back to the late 18 hundreds and maybe even longer. According to one of the articles I found, it is argued that standardized testing in high stakes forms pushes the students and helps them reach their full potential. For example: if a high school student will not be permitted to graduate without passing a standardized exam, this particular exam can be classified as “ high stakes”; according to Kearns, L. (2011), this, then forces the student to try their hardest, perform better and eventually …show more content…
I had to agree with research I found, as it suggested the gap between students who are achieving and students’, who are falling behind, is widening. One study focused primarily on the feelings of the students who had been administered a literacy test in Ontario; the researchers found that even though the test had been created to “create equity within the school system” many youths just felt shame and embarrassment. In my opinion students should never had to associate school with feelings of embarrassment or …show more content…
In a nut shell, the affirmative suggests that “high stakes” force students to perform their best, while the standardization of tests also creates “equality” in the educational system. Another point; probably the most likely reason for continuing the use of these exams is: that the standardized tests allow for easy distribution, collection and the imputing of data after the exam. In addition those who are “for” standardized testing explain that these exams are based on a criteria that can be referenced. The rebuttal to the points listed above would maintain that there is a major gap between those who are “achieving” and those who are not meeting expectations. That these tests are not fair because many people learn and express what they’ve learned differently. There is also question as to how these tests maintain their validity and reliability. Carneiro, Crawford, and Goodman (2007) suggest that these tests encourage extreme cramming rather than actually understandings or learned abilities. The authors explain how students are learning to regurgitate material but are unable to apply it when