What effect does the pressure of standardized testing have on student expectations and performance - Thesis Proposal Example

?Running Head: Research Proposal Research Proposal [Institute’s TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 INTRODUCTION 3 Research Statement 3 Objectives 3 Significance 4 Research Questions 4 LITERATURE REVIEW 4 METHODOLOGY 12 Research Plan 14 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 14 CONCLUSION 15 REFERENCES 16 INTRODUCTION Since decades, educators and experts have been endeavoring to understanding different aspects of education system in order to propose their strategies and recommendations for the betterment and improvement of the education sector globally. In the result, one can observe huge number of researches focusing on different aspects and components of education system; involving students and teachers lives. The proposed research is an attempt in the series of similar efforts that will be focusing on students’ performances and expectations that often become adverse due to pressure of different testing procedures. In particular, the researcher has selected the process of standardized testing that will be in focus in the proposed research. Research Statement In this regard, the researcher will focus on the following research statement to fulfill the aims and objectives of the research: “To identify and analyze the impact of pressure of standardized testing on students’ expectations and performance” Objectives The specific aims and objectives of the proposed research are to: Identify and examine various factors that play a significant role in creating pressure during the standardized testing of students Inspect the extent of impact of the pressure of standardized testing on students’ expectations Scrutinize the extent of impact of the pressure of standardized testing on students’ performance Analyze the impact of identified pressure in the case study of a high school Recognize and recommend strategies that may ensure positive impact of standardized testing on expectations and performances of students Significance It is an understanding that in race of meritocracy, academic institutions are only focusing on different testing procedures to pressurize students that often result in good academic grades; however, result in expectations and performance of students on a broader level. It is anticipation that outcomes of proposed research will play a significant role in enabling educators to improve the process of standardized testing that may result in a positive impact on students’ performance rather than vice versa. Research Questions In order to collect data, the researcher has identified following questions that will enable the researcher in fulfilling abovementioned aims and objectives of the proposed research: You need to paste your questionnaire here LITERATURE REVIEW The statement “What effect does the pressure of standardized testing have on student expectations and performance?” has come under many studies, researches and theories since it is one of the most vital and significant subject of concern for the youth of twenty first century as they are living in the world of paramount competition. This topic has been under constant discussions and disputes with many controversial results amongst the academic researchers, professors and lecturers, and parents as everybody has a different perspective on the influence and performance on students of the standardized testing. However, the preliminary concept of standardized testing has emerged in order to assess and calculate the knowledge, understanding, and efficiency of students within the academic learning systems that comes under practice in the United States and many other countries. In addition, education systems even exercise the standardized testing with a purpose to establish, form and outline the program of study for the students according to their performance and skills level (Henningfeld, 2007).  Various educational institutions carry out numerous standardized tests as eligibility criteria of admission in the college or school all around the world includes “Scholastic Assessment Tests (SAT), Graduate Management Aptitude Tests (GMAT), Law School Admission Testing (LSAT) and Medical College Admission Tests (MCAT) and numerous others” (Henningfeld, 2007). According to some schools of thought (Phelps, 2005), the prime and foremost objective of standardized testing is to identify and distinguish the level of students’ performance and learning acquired according to course outline of the curriculum. Furthermore, it also assists in determining the weak or lacking and outshines areas of the students. While looking at the other end of the spectrum, scores of the populace around the world are in opposition to the concept of standardized testing for the reason that it may bring an unconstructive and pessimistic impact, and smash up the personality of the students if they fall short to clear these tests in a premature age. Moreover, these people also believe that if the students are not able to make up to the grades, they get demoralized and disheartened leads to the conclusion that the student is less likely to learn, acquire knowledge, skills and confidence, and progress in an appropriate manner (Phelps, 2005). According to many researches (Phillips & Bostian, 2011), the results proved the fact that the students of the Western world that include countries like United States come under the subject to excel more and perform better in the elementary skill tests. However, according to the observations, the performance of students of Eastern world that includes Asian countries was in a much better standard. The reason for the better performance of the US students according to these studies is that the education systems and teachers give high importance, priority and value to the students’ confidence, self-respect, and sense of worth rather that their educational skills and knowledge (Phillips & Bostian, 2011). Some researchers (Mertler, 2007) also deem and articulate that the standardized test provide a prejudice and unfair treatment to some students as many of the research illustrate the results that the white students achieve better results who are born with a silver spoon in mouth and resides in posh areas. This is because they can get the auxiliary facilities such as preparation classes or materials to lean due to their strong financial background and they have a fluency in English language, as it is their native or the primary language. Therefore, on the other hand, the students who do not have smoothness in speaking this language or is their subsequent language and are less opportune and underprivileged scores less in their tests. This does not reflect the fact that they are less competent, dull, or unintelligent than the white students (Mertler, 2007). This has also come under verification by another research that the children who are in the learning stages of English language be inclined to obtain poor rankings and may achieve scores which are not up to the mark when compared to those students who have the fluency in English language (Mertler, 2007).   According to studies (Sacks, 2001), outcomes has clearly revealed that fact that parents play a crucial and critical role in the students’ life as they raise extreme pressure on the children not only to clear the standardized tests but to excel in it. Some parents believe that in order to boost their prestige in their neighborhood and society their children should have the highest scores amongst all the others. In addition, the parents also try to accomplish their dreams and vision through their children, and do not realize that the capacity, capability, and power of each child are poles apart from another and the skills of one may be at variance and differ from others (Sacks, 2001). This pressure sometimes play a dreadfully unconstructive role in the students’ personality and minds that may stress them out to such an extent that the students may have the thoughts of attempting suicides. Consequently, the suicidal rates and attempts in students of many parts of the world have a substantially high rate. The students might at some occasions able to take and handle this pressure and perform well and commendable with high ranks but this is not the same for all students as every child has different levels of capacity of handling the pressures on to their minds (Sacks, 2001). The theories and studies also illustrate the reality that the students who are likely to score high ranks in these tests does not necessarily represent that they have more knowledge and learning power (Sadker, Zittleman & Sadker, 2008). Educational institutions are more over now playing the role of test preparation place rather than its traditional function that is to provide quality education and knowledge to the students. The high ranks of the students in the standardized tests unveil the outcomes that it is because of the ways and techniques that the teachers train the students to appear for the tests and do not pay much concentration to their learning skills. Moreover, the basic education or the actual learning has become auxiliary in relation to the standardized testing that came under the top most priority. This has constricted the educational standard where the program of study and the co-curricular activities has turned down to be the supplementary aspects (Sadker, Zittleman & Sadker, 2008). The educational institutions also come under the impact of the pressure of well performance. This pressure endeavors from the school management to the teachers and ultimately to the students. On some occasions, the teachers are aware with the exact situations of the pressure, while in other circumstances they come under misinterpretations about the stress regarding the attainment of a certain percentage of scores in standardized tests (Sadker, Zittleman & Sadker, 2008). Based on it, strategies and learning curriculum is subject to design by the teachers and administrator. This might affect the performance of students as the teachers with inferior teaching skills will only emphasize on the teachings of their tests and will not focus on the learning of the students. Those students might benefit whose teachers have the strong teaching skills and will make the student learn with different methodologies and techniques and will not feel the pressure of the standardized tests and may perform well ultimately (Sadker, Zittleman & Sadker, 2008). Different people have dissimilar and diverse opinions about the results that cone under the display on the notice board of the schools or colleges to demonstrate the grades of the student in association to other students. In view of some people, this creates a negative and discouraging impact on the students who lacks and is unsuccessful in these standardized tests when compared to the students who manage to pass these tests (Sadker, Zittleman & Sadker, 2008). The confidence lies behind the students’ academic career that solely counts upon the pressure of the tests that a student can tackle with and its result. The lack of confidence can also lead to various psychological, emotional, mental, and physical disorders. Students may even get nervous that can have a lack in their attentiveness and attention in the class as well as afterwards due to high level of pressures of the tests. This psychological concern may affect and harm their eating and sleeping habits that may lead to recurrent illness and bad health due to lack of sufficient nutrition and being awake during night times as well (Sadker, Zittleman & Sadker, 2008). Where the standardized tests have come under numerous critiques, it has a leading benefit with it. It is particularly favorable and useful for the kids of small age as it plays a chief role in the recognition, classification, and assessment of the growth of the student and the hindrance and the impediment that is occurring in the progress of the student. In addition, there are several tests present, which can assist in measuring the performance of the student. These standardized tests including the language tests, accomplishment tests, evaluation tests and many more (Henningfeld, 2007). These tests support in recognizing the concerns that are becoming the obstructions in the development of the students. Additionally, the tests come with a plan to evaluate the learning abilities of the student along with identification if the student has the need to have improvement in the language skill. The identification and recognition of the progress and key issues in the development of the student has been the foremost motive of the standardized test amongst the young students, rather than evaluating exclusively the performance of them (Henningfeld, 2007). The analysis of many researches has publicized the information that standardized in scores of cases has resulted to be stressful on the minds and thought of the students and left a drastic impact of it on them. Consequently, it has proved to be conceivably destructive and unsafe for the learners as it put forth immense pressure on the students that they do not have the capacity to receive and handle it. The outcome of the mammoth pressure on the students may lead them to emotional and psychological distress as they might experience health issues like vomiting and becoming aggressive throughout the time of the test. It can even result in students losing their concentration power during the tests that might have a huge effect on to the performance of the students. It has come under studies that the teachers’ proficiency and excellence contributes in the reduction of the pressure that the students hold. It is due to the reason that the teacher proficiency identifies and helps the students in learning and understanding in a better way. The student is likely to perform well when he is free from the pressures of the standardized tests and if the teacher has high quality. Therefore, the performance of the student is directly proportionate to the teachers’ proficiency. The students have an expectation that they will get a quality learning from their teachers and if the teachers fulfill their expectations, then the students are free from their pressures and their performance tend to increase in their tests as well (Mertler, 2007). According to theories, experts (Mertler, 2007) found out that the external factors such as the social class, family background and parents’ education play a dominant role in the students’ performance and are unmanageable aspects. Moreover, these aspects are the fundamental influential factors that affect the students in their class and their performances in the tests. The studies also present the views of the students that they have on the standardized tests. Some students are in favor of these tests as they are clear from the pressures, as they want to be a part of the competition, therefore, they want to have detail analysis about their strong aspects that they possess and excel in and weak points where they lack. In addition, they welcome and are open to learning at all times and consider the tests as a challenge to them that will bring out their inner hidden capabilities (Sacks, 2001). However, some students who come under governance by intense pressure oppose the concept of standardized tests as they lacks confidence and concentration that makes them feel the tests complicated and hard to solve. At the same time, they get nervous and worried for their test results, as they are aware of the fact they have performed poor in their tests and they generally do not have the ability to think optimistically about their potentials (Sacks, 2001). Another study (Getz, 2008) states the piece of information that the use of computer has significantly proved to have a positive effect on the students and their performances when applying for standardized tests. This study also exhibits the evidence that the students make use of computers during the procedure of writings for various purposes as this diverse aspect play an important role in carrying out the learning process of the students and controls their pressures as well. On the other hand, the results of the study showed that the computer usage could also have an adverse impact on the performance of the students in their tests when used for leisure purpose (Getz, 2008). The students who tend to make the use of computer with an intention of entertainment, they are less likely to perform well in their standardized tests as they lack good reading ability. The use of computers in schools for making multimedia or PowerPoint presentations also leads to unconstructive effect on the students’ performance in the standardized tests as well. Since these presentations enhance the creative and artistic abilities and capacities of the students that they fail to concentrate on their writing skills and this creates a negative output in their results of the standardized tests (Getz, 2008). With reference to discouraging the concept of standardized testing, several schools and colleges that may include privileged educational institutions in various countries have come to halt these practices for the entrance into the advanced level college. Rather, the performance of students in forms of grades, class positions, or GPAs of the previous classes comes under checking, verifying, and accepting by these institutions as an eligibility criterion. Nevertheless, the people who are in favor of the standardized tests obstruct and counterattack to this viewpoint. Since they believe that these sort of tests should come under applications as it persuade, support and gives confidence to the students to study intensively with determination as it helps the children in escalating their learning process and their knowledge on a daily basis (Getz, 2008). The above studies, researches, and theories can come under conclusion that standardized testing is playing a colossal role not only in the development of the student in a positive aspect but in some situations it play a great deal of putting immense pressure on the students that effects them psychologically, mentally, and emotionally. The numerous studies prove that the students’ progress and growth depends a lot on the quality of the teacher and the classroom learning. With the proficient teachers’ the students are more likely to perform well and the poor quality of the teacher tends to have a bad influence on the progress of the students. Another important aspect that influences the pressure amount on the children is the parents’ role. Their support will make the student polish their inner qualities and performance will increase in the tests, while the parents who put pressure on the students are probable to perform poor in their tests. The studies highlighted the fact of the understanding for each child’s capability is diverse and different from one another. Lastly, the standardized tests should come under use in order to determine the weak areas of the students that can come under workings so that students leave their pressures and concentrate on learning and enhancing their performances. METHODOLOGY It is an understanding of the researcher that besides identification of available literature and recognition of objectives, one of the major components of every research is methodology that plays the most decisive role in allowing the researchers to fulfill aims and objectives of the research. From this understanding of significance of methodology, the researcher will not put efforts to describe and discuss selected methodological tools that will enable the proposed research to achieve successful results. Specifically, the researcher has decided to carry out the proposed research in a qualitative manner. One of the major reasons of selecting qualitative method in comparison to quantitative method is anticipation of the researcher to acquire broader and generalized findings that will allow implementation in the education sector that would have not been possible with the selection of quantitative methodology. Moreover, the research proposal has included brief review of the literature on the standardized testing and its impact on the expectations and performances of students that indicates that a number of educators and experts have endeavored on some components of the identified research statement that will be beneficial for the research. In this regard, the researcher has identified several books and journals, as well as magazines and research papers on the topic that facilitate the researcher in the acquisition of data from secondary research. In other words, the researcher will be putting efforts while utilizing secondary research methodology that will facilitate the creation of fundamental basis, which will be helpful during the primary methodology as well. In particular, the secondary research method will include efforts of the researcher to analyze and scrutinize different academic resources related to the standardized testing and students’ performances. For this purpose, the researcher will be utilizing the platforms of public, as well as private libraries, and most importantly the tool of internet that will be very helpful in analyzing and examining huge number of books and journals in the most efficient and easy manner. However, the basic purpose of the proposed research is to not only examine previously published work on the research statement and come up with repetitive discussion but to carry out research in practical educational settings and acquire findings based on realistic learning settings. Therefore, to avoid replication of existing information, the researcher will benefit from the tool of primary research methodology by creating a questionnaire that will include questions regarding standardized testing, and that will be focusing mainly students of an educational institution. Specifically, the researcher has selected the current organization of employment that is a high school and that will be case study of the proposed research. In this regard, the researcher will be distributing the questionnaire in the students of grades 10-12 at the high school that will enable acquisition of data based on real scenarios rather than only theoretical frameworks. From this selection of both primary, as well as secondary research methodology, the researcher will be able to acquire broad-ranging findings on the impact of standardized testing on different aspects of students’ performances and expectations. Both methodological tools will help the researcher, for instance, data from secondary research will enable the researcher in validating findings of primary research, and these findings will provide an opportunity to challenge or acknowledge previously published data available in different academic sources. Research Plan # Phases Date Date Date Date Date Date Date Date Date Date 1 Theoretical Framework 1st week 2 Research Proposal 2nd week 3 Secondary Research 3-4th week 4 Analysis of Data 5-7th week 5 Primary Research 8-10th week 6 Distribution of Questionnaires 11th week 7 Collection of Questionnaires 12th week 8 Analysis 13-15th week 9 Rough Draft of Dissertation 16th week 10 Final Submission 17th week ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS It is an understanding that ethics is an important aspect that every researcher should consider while carrying out any research. In this regard, the researcher will ensure complete fulfillment of ethical considerations while carrying out primary secondary research, as well as during the secondary research method. In particular, the researcher will ensure confidentiality and privacy of students at the high school, in order to encourage them to provide truthful answers that will be crucial for success of the proposed research. In addition, the researcher will endeavor to give reference to every book, journal, magazine, or report that will come under utilization during the study, as well as every expert or student that will be contributing any information during the process. CONCLUSION Conclusively, the proposal included concise description of different components of the proposed research that will be focusing on the impact of standardized testing on different aspects of students’ expectations and performances. In brief, the researcher anticipates contributing efficiently to the world of academia, and believes that outcomes of the proposed researcher will play a significant role in improving testing processes in the future. REFERENCES Getz, M. (2008). Investing in College: A Guide for the Perplexed. Harvard University Press. Henningfeld, D. A. (2007). Standardized Testing. Greenhaven Press. Mertler, C. A. (2007). Interpreting standardized test scores: strategies for data-driven instructional decision-making. Sage Publications. Phelps, R. P. (2005). Defending standardized testing. Routledge. Phillips, H. L., Bostian, P. (2011). The Purposeful Argument: A Practical Guide. Cengage Learning. Sacks, P. (2001). Standardized minds: the high price of America's testing culture and what we can do to change it. Da Capo Press. Sadker, D. M., Zittleman, K., Sadker, M. (2008). Teachers, schools, and society. McGraw-Hill Read More