Arguments For Standardized Testing
Advocates of standardized testing in college admissions say that the SAT and ACT serve as national, standardized scales to determine how prepared students are for college. The following are just a few arguments in favor of standardized testing.
- Standardized testing is practical. The tests have explicit directions and are easy to administer. They are also time efficient and easy to grade.
- Standardized testing prepares the student for college. When students prepare for and take the SAT or ACT, they learn test-taking skills that will help them in college.
- Standardized testing offsets grade inflation. With grade inflation on the rise in many school systems, standardized tests offer a way to consistently compare student knowledge and aptitude.
- Standardized testing is objective. Compared to more involved assessments, standardized tests are unbiased. For the most part, standardized tests are graded by machines so grader moods and biases will not affect test scores.
**Ok saying that standardized testing is practical is completely an easy excuse why to have these tests. They are easy to administer and easy to grade? Why have them at all if thats one of the reasons to have the tests, because it is a rather lame reason if you ask me. And they prepare students for college? In my first semester here, I have not used any of the test taking strategies my tutor from the ACT taught me, I have used my old habits of test taking and studying and I think I have done fine. With or without the ACT I would perform the same way on tests in college. And if grade inflation is going to be a reason, maybe the issue is we need to look at the standards for grades at different high schools and make sure they are very similar if not the same. We need to try to regulate that if at one school a student that doesn’t work gets an A and at another school a hardworking student gets a C. And they say testing is unbiased, however on the ACT and SAT tests you have to put your gender for example along with many other things. It’s been proven that if you are asked what your gender is at the beginning of the test, females will do worse because subconsciously they were asked what their gender was and its in their head. So no, these tests are not unbiased.
Arguments Against Standardized Testing
Critics of standardized testing in college admissions say that standardized tests are no longer as good of an indicator of college success as once thought. The following are just a few arguments against standardized testing.
- Standardized testing is biased against certain groups. Standardized testing shows bias towards women and groups of ethnic and socioeconomic diversity. In regards to an income bias, wealthy students become more prepared for standardized tests through better life experiences, such as top-quality schools and test prep tutors.
- Standardized testing adds too much stress to student lives. Students spend a lot of time stressing over the SAT/ACT when they could be focusing their energy on more important academic and social activities that could benefit them in the future.
- Standardized testing impedes the assessment of a very important skill. For the most part, standardized tests hinder any sort of creative or out-of-the-box thinking, which is a skill needed in college and in the workforce.
I strongly agree with all of these points made. Almost everyone in my town either has a tutor for college admission tests, buys a prep book or attends a prep class. But this is not the case everywhere, some areas cannot afford to have this advantage, and yet all areas are required to take the tests even if they do not have the resources for preparation. Too much stress? Yes. When you look at a college you see what ACT or SAT score you need to get in, and every time you go into the test, which for me was five times, that specific number is in your head, and if you get even one point below that score its devastating. Over a test? There are way more important things to dwell over in my opinion. And like it says here, standardized tests are for out of the box thinkers, which for sure isn’t everyone. Again, I personally am the opposite from an out of the box thinker, but I am a hard worker and I think it reflects in my grades. But people that do not have this thinking process are shut out of colleges, which I find to be not fair at all.
https://www.ecampustours.com/collegeplanning/testtakingsatact/argumentsforandagainststandardizedtesting.htm
