Standardized Testing a Valid Tool

¶ … Standardized Testing a Valid Tool of Measuring Students' Academic Success? Definition and examples of standardized tests. Standardized testing is an examination conducted with a set of clearly drafted questions that are highly researched for quality. The outcome of standardized tests can be relied upon to judge the quality of knowledge acquired by a student. Questions in a standardized test comprises of just the sheet of question and with a set of answers for each question. Students can choose and mark the correct answer from the given set of answers.

Other forms of questions include the choice to judge whether a statement is correct or wrong, question to match the correct answer and statements with space to be filled with the most suitable answer. Standardized testing is usually a time consuming examination and cannot be completed fast. (Harris; Turkington, 10) standardized testing is usually conducted to assess pupils in schools either at the end of the academic year or during the academic year. This kind of testing is uniform when conducted at any point of time in any place.

The nature of questions and the marks achieved by students can be compared quickly to evaluate the depth of knowledge each student has acquired. Since standardized testing is conducted by giving questions and a set of answers, it is normal to question about testing the knowledge of a child in language, mathematics, social science, practical knowledge of science in laboratory, etc. These subjects can also be evaluated using standardized testing.

The rules to assess the marks of all the pupils who undertake the test should be uniform to make a comparative study on the marks of pupils. Standardized testing is usually in order with the lessons that deal with psychology and education in the school books. (Traub, 24) 2. Factual benefits of having standardized testing system Standardized testing can be used to compare the performance of students in different periods of time.

A standardized testing score of current year can be compared with the results in any of the previous years to arrive at conclusions about the quality of learning. Standardized testing is conducted in two different ways. While one method examines the knowledge, the other method evaluates the knowledge of a pupil. The idea behind examination is to substantiate the extent to which the pupil has understood the syllabus. Examination is conducted to issue testimonials for a certain course of study and evaluation is conducted among pupils to assess a student.

(McNeil, 1) Evaluation does not involve the matter of certification. Hence evaluation is performed at any point of time in a year. This kind of standardized test is put "through a set of students to check their level of knowledge and all students in a class is not required to participate in it." (Traub, 26) for instance a test is conducted on a set of pupils in a class. The goal of such a test is to assess the depth of knowledge in that particular subject among that set of students.

This is similar to the opinion sought from a select group of people in the public about a common problem. A performance oriented test of this kind was appreciated by the public since it gives the actual knowledge or achievement of a student effectively. However, there are three aspects attached to this kind of testing. They are responsibility to teach the pupils, upgradation in the mode of education and assessment of the curriculum.

Standardized testing is given importance in the higher grades while this test is rarely conducted among pupils in the kindergarten. (Traub, 26) Standardized testing is conducted in sophisticated environments to arrive at significant conclusions about the knowledge of a student.

It is used to "check the eligibility of a student to a higher class, to judge a person who has applied for an admission to a college and to test students who apply for scholarships, prize or educational award." (Phelps, 1) the factual benefits of standardized testing include evaluation of a student on a daily basis. This check on the progress of a student's knowledge gives detailed idea about the involvement of the student in his learning process.

Parents, school authorities as well as teachers can make a comparative study of a student's performance with a well performing student. A comparative study can also be conducted on the student's performance in different subjects. This results in the improvement of a child with respect to his syllabus. The real knowledge and talent the student has obtained from his learning can be measured through standardized testing. Sub-tests are conducted to evaluate the performance at various point of a grade at school.

Result from standardized testing enable teachers to improve their teaching methods with respect to a student and a group of students. Though knowledge cannot be applied while answering a standardized test, factual answers can be promptly given. The ability of a child to solve various questions is tested in standardized testing whereby the students learn to answer question based on the skill and logic for which the student does not undergo any specified training.

(Parents Guide to Testing) Cognitive testing is conducted with respect to the curriculum of a school and it does not check the general brilliance of a student. It tests the logical ability which the student has learnt throughout his education. This includes the concentration of a child while learning, listening skills, the ability to understand and carry out instructions and the ability to stay focused. Other abilities tested by the cognitive approach include test of grammar, mathematics and identification of various figures, diagrams and their connection.

Various types of comparisons can be made with the score of a child. One is the comparison of a child's performance with students of the same age group while another comparison is based on their grade. As mentioned earlier, the educational achievements and knowledge of a child can be compared with other high performers in the country. Cognitive approach is employed in standardized testing when a student does not perform well at school and does not show improvement in scores.

This method paves for a detailed research on the inability of a child to learn. Teachers undertake continuous evaluation of students to understand the improvements in the studies as well as the deterioration to overcome the problem. They are also involved in drafting advanced methods of teaching to poor performers in the test. (Parents Guide to Testing) 3. Drawbacks of standardized testing Standardization of curriculum diminishes the volume and standard of education imparted to students.

By adhering to standardization, there is a limitation to the amount of knowledge given to students in various subjects. This drawback is accompanied by the decrease in the involvement of teachers and the deficiency in terms of brisk learning. In the long run, standardization will lead to inequalities in the society by creating a distance between the wealthy and the poor and would create a situation where one part of the society is privileged while others are not.

Inequalities can be clearly observed among pupils who get less mark in standardized testing. Disadvantages of this method of teaching and testing increases the expense for education and will pose a burden to teachers and students in the long run. A more dangerous fact related to standardize testing is the increased discrimination in terms of education to minority groups like Latin American and African-Americans. This method was implemented in schools with the rising pressure from corporate that provide funds to the educational system.

These companies were ready to fund only those schools which gave impressive results. Thus it was passed on from the bureaucratic level to the schools to create a reformation in the curricula that measured results using specified standards. Uniformity was the criterion behind this approach which measured results in numbers. (McNeil, 3) Standard testing leaves the students with no good knowledge or information about a subject. There is no allocation of time to learn a topic rather than to memorize limited information.

There is no real time performance in a classroom in the run to score high marks in objective standardized testing. "Writing skills, projects and the importance given to teacher in imparting knowledge do not exist in this kind of learning." (Phelps, 22) Only teachers who evaluate the score of the student will have the understanding of a student's performance. Guidance and lecture from a few teachers leaves the students with little performance related ability. Preparation to answer multiple choice questions limits the extent of knowledge.

The syllabus is narrowed down by this method of learning. Standardized testing is centered on the objective to check the memory of events factually. Further, standardized testing is a costlier method of judging students knowledge. A considerable number of teachers, students and parents are against this approach. (Phelps, 22) The disadvantages of standardized testing can be further explained in the case of teaching history. In this kind of learning, history would mean merely remembering a set of events and names.

Complex objectives of the subject that include the impact of events on the social and cultural changes in the society cannot be learnt. Students will not be able to understand the need to learn a subject and they will not have an opportunity to research or think about a particular subject when they are merely forced to memorize the details. Teachers are badly affected since they have to impart knowledge based on limitations and directions from authorities.

Students cannot be shaped into unique individuals who will have their own opinion on various topics. Only uniform thinkers will be left with no room for innovation. By memorizing details, students will not enjoy what they learn. They are left with a certain number of questions and answers to be memorized in a given period of time. Teachers reach a saturation point by this monotonous mode of education. They get fed up of repeating the same details.

Moreover, additional resources like paper, staff support, administrative and parental assistance is also required. Teachers are left to handle huge number of students in a class, with no much time to plan the curriculum and there will be an increase in the number of distracting students. Moreover uninteresting methods of teaching lead teachers to give up their profession. Objective assessment deteriorates the amount of information and creative thinking in students. (Frederick Taylor in the Classroom: Standardized Testing and Scientific Management) 4.

Correlation between standardized tests' scores and student's acceptance rate declaration that SAT did not advocate the aspect of aptitude was welcomed by many students in the United States. This was not considered after scrutinizing the aspects of the test but an observation on school children revealed that they simply memorized the names and facts and that it did not contribute in improving the writing and reading skills of students.

Moreover it was stated in the report that the importance given to train student to take standardized test was evolving comprise on the quality of education in America. Universities and colleges were not ready to give up this method of education and argued that applicant to colleges and students who sought admissions to higher grade classes took up the test without compromising on the quality of education. Further this kind of test was required to shortlist candidates who apply for various course of study at universities and colleges.

The correlation between the marks obtained in standardized tests and the acceptance of students into higher educational institutions have various other factors attached to it. It has been observed that with the increase in the income of a student's family, the marks of students in this test increases. (Two Cheers for an End to the SAT) Another factor that influences the marks of students is considered to be educational qualification of parents.

The decrease in the marks obtained by students who appear for standardized test to seek admission is considered to be the huge number of candidate who take up the test. The amount of knowledge a student has achieved through academics is not clearly evident by this kind of test. The verbal part of the test is carried out to know the vocabulary of the person rather than a comprehensive test on the language of the candidate.

A study on candidates at the East Carolina University revealed that they were adopting a surface method to appear for the test whereby they memorize the answers required to appear for the exam rather than conducting a deep study by understanding the subject in detail. These candidates were not interested in scoring marks by learning but wanted to score comparatively high marks than other applicants.

(Two Cheers for an End to the SAT) Further, the result of standardized test during admission to a college is not correlated to the result of student on completion of their first year at college. This difference in marks reveals that standardized test is not a reliable method to assess the academic excellence of a student even with a single variable. This makes it clear that the performance of students on completion of study of college will not have any relation to their score in the standardized test.

The importance of standardized testing further deteriorates with the aspect of discrimination. Well qualified students from minority groups who do not have the ability to score well in tests cannot make their way into good colleges while the white students who prepare for the test alone can score high marks. Hence there will not be a racial mix in these colleges which intend to promote diversity. Even individuals who support affirmative action require SAT as a criterion to provide admission.

Hence the acceptance rate is depended upon the score in a standardized test but this is not the right criterion to assess the knowledge of a student. (Two Cheers for an End to the SAT) 5. Other methods of measuring students' academic success. The evaluation of a student's performance should be aimed to effect a change to the extent of knowledge acquired by the student and increase the level of performance.

The Measures of Academic Progress method is employed to better the teaching abilities and thereby improve the learning standards of students using projects assisted by computers. Computers are used to impart the requisite data to the teachers from time to time. The result obtained from MAP evaluation is used to improve the learning of a student to a set target which will lead to a better performance of the school as a whole.

MAP test is conducted around four times a year to give timely progress report to the teachers with correct information. This method of testing is employed in many schools and organizations associated with education use MAP test to assist children in improving their mathematics, language and reading abilities. This method of evaluation is an exclusive and flexible one which caters to the learning ability of students by evaluating the child's knowledge and unknown areas of study.

MAP test evaluates the progress of student throughout the academic years irrespective of their age or grade. The result from this kind of evaluation is significant from both the perspectives of learning and teaching. Teaching assignments can be planned and distributed over the academic year by considering the results of MAP test which ultimately enhances the standard of the school. (Reading, Mathematics, and Language Usage tests) In the higher studies area, the performance of students is measured using non-cognitive self thoughts which lead to the success of a student.

Hence the various criteria to be considered under this test are academic self efficiency, leadership qualities, motivation to learn, and the nature of learning, group study, and expectation from assessment and participation in uniform group studies with a common knowledge about the non-cognitive skills to learn.

Here the results are measure in "grade-point-ratio, consistency of learning and their marks with respect to the above mentioned criteria." (Immekus; Maller; Imbrie; Ningying; McDermott, S2C-3) This test is conducted at the end of an academic year, usually on first year students of a professional course to check their excellence in academics. The marks scored by these should reveal how non-cognitive abilities of students give uniform results. (Immekus; Maller; Imbrie; Ningying; McDermott, S2C-3) Benchmark testing is another method of evaluating the knowledge of a student.

Other methods of evaluation students include performance task assessment through the background of the student, group discussion, and proper information of the student's improvement and through the specimen of their project. The.