High Stakes Testing Pros and Cons

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High Stakes Testing Pros and Cons

In 2001, the United States implemented a law that was called No Child Left Behind. This law was designed to help US children be able to keep pace with the rest of the world. There are unique poverty and educational issues in the United States that put some children at a natural advantage compared to other children. This educational law was designed to level the playing field and at the heart of this law is the concept of high stakes testing.

In a high stakes test, everything that a child has learned is evaluated in one series of results. To move up to new grade levels or even graduate, children must pass these specific tests. Is this kind of evaluation effective in gauging the information retention a child has? Or is it hurting the American education system even more? Here are some of the pros and cons to consider with tests that have such high stakes.

What Are the Pros of High Stakes Testing?

It can help teachers create a specific learning plan for each student.
By evaluating how a student’s knowledge retention is being formed, a more specific learning plan can be created to emphasize that student’s strengths. Kids all learn differently, so each child can be taught in a more effective way thanks to the information that these high stakes tests are able to provide. Although no system is perfect, these standardized options help to provide more individual insights than other common evaluation methods today.

Test results are almost always publicly available.
There is a lot of transparency in the high stakes testing world. This has an advantage for parents because they can always access how well or how poorly their children are performing in school. This information also helps parents be able to make empowered choices about the education of their child so that the best overall education can be received instead of forcing kids into cookie cutter methods of learning.

High stakes testing improves a child’s test-taking abilities.
People face tests every day. Sometimes the test is an evaluation of a child’s knowledge retention. Adults face tests in the way of deadlines, proof of concept, or entrepreneurial skills. Parents face tests every time their children have challenging behaviors. When strangers purposely or inadvertently disrupt a routine, people are tested in how they’ll respond to that individual. Testing in schools prepares students for these eventualities.

It emphasizes specific subjects that are universally needed.
High stakes testing puts the focus of education in the areas of language and mathematics, which are subjects that virtually every career needs in some way. Although these subjects are part of the testing, the No Child Left Behind law also requires that all subjects be taught and not just the two core tested subjects.

Tests that are standardized are tests that don’t discriminate.
Information on these tests aren’t geared toward a specific racial, ethnic, or even financial demographic. All students receive the same questions that cover the same information, which means high stakes testing is one of the few places where the playing field has been effectively leveled – on paper at least.

What Are the Cons of High Stakes Testing?

It can cause children to repeat grade levels or deny a diploma.
The problem with high stakes tests is that the children who are taking them are often unaware of how important they really are. Their future literally hinges on the performance they’re able to provide within the test. If they fail the test, even if they’re just goofing off during the test taking session, then they could be forced to repeat a school year, be denied a diploma, or be required to attend summer school to “shore up” the educational deficiencies.

Some students don’t engage with learning in this fashion.
Many teachers are forced to teach test taking classes in order to prepare students for the test itself. This is because some students just don’t engage with learning that comes in the form of these standardized tests. Specific factual data might not always be retained, but the purpose or thoughts or creativity behind historical events might be retained. By making items multiple choice, kids who think or learn differently aren’t really being properly evaluated.

It creates high levels of anxiety within the student.
Having a big test is something that happens throughout life, but there are very few tests that adults face that will affect them for as long as these standardized high stakes tests do for kids. Just the thought of failing these tests can create anxiety within children that can adversely affect how they learn, react, and grow in their later years.

Creativity is removed from the classroom.
Teachers are often judged by the testing performance that their students have, which means they can’t be creative in how they teach students. They must follow a straight forward protocol that mandates specific items be taught so tests can be passed. Many teachers even feel compelled to teach the test materials, which eliminates the individuality that is supposed to be in the modern educational system.

They just don’t work.
When No Child Left Behind was instituted, the United States ranked 18th in the world in math. In 2009, after 8 years of this educational initiative, the United States ranked 31st in the world. The only subject that didn’t see a drop in rankings, in fact, was reading comprehension. High stakes testing is making US students be less competitive in the world today.

Is High Stakes Testing Effective?

At the end of a day, a test should just be a test. It shouldn’t be something that makes or breaks a child’s future. Highs takes testing has some advantages that can help children be competitive, but it’s one big disadvantage is the fact that the creative subjects, like art and music, aren’t included in these tests. By evaluating the pros and cons, each parent can be more actively involved in their local school district and fight for the educational opportunities they want for their children.