Standardized Testing Is Not As Harmless - 1394 Words

All around the country, students, teachers and parents are preparing. Students are staying up past midnight for hours of fact drilling and studying. Teachers are giving extra homehork and cramming and extra information that may be needed. Parents are trying to help their children study in hopes they will pass, but they often only make it worse as they add to the ever increasing stress load of the impending doom of standardized testing. Standardized Testing is not as harmless as it seems. It often affects students on a mental level, making them extremely nervous, then breaking them down on a mental level. It also hurts the teachers in many ways, including temptation to cheat. Standardized testing is at a new high in America and is said to†¦show more content†¦A true teacher who values education will not stand for a system centered on test scores rather than learning† (Burnt at High Stakes) 10. Many teachers value the true meaning of school: education and learning. These amazing teachers have left the teaching profession because they will not stand for an education based off of the standardized testing, which is what the school systems are becoming. A way to make it so that the teachers did not have to worry about a changing central focus of education is to allow the students to assemble portfolios. These portfolios would allow freedom of learning and bring the focus of school back to its original meaning, knowledge. The teachers that do stay are faced with another issue. They must change their teaching methods and conform to the new idea that has been instated, that all school revolves around testing. â€Å"Teachers have started planning their curricula around state tests†¦teaching only material that will be seen on tests or simply test taking skills†¦teachers lose some of the dynamism and creativity that makes school effective and enjoyable-that there is more value placed on concepts and hands-on projects that require a greater challen ge that what can be tested in multiple choice format† (Evans) 2. Due to the increase in testing, teachers have begun teaching only what is needed for testing. They no longer go above and beyond, teaching all the information they can, but rather stay within the confines