Do Standardized Tests Enhance Student Learning or are They Just a Product of Globalization - Assignment Example

Topic: Do standardized tests enhance student learning or are they just a product of globalization Name Institution Course name Date Introduction The method of using standardized tests to evaluate educational progress and performance of students has been used for a long while and is worldwide. The tests are varied and on some cases are even used by employers when there are too many applications for a job vacancy. The motivation behind the testing is that rates the educational performance of the student and hence creates a desire for improvement. The standardization of these tests however has limitations. It adds pressure on students and teachers to perform and consequently creating an educational system that is focused on performance rather than learning and personal improvement. Yet, learning and personal improvement are the goals of education. This literature review is a critical look into the effects of the standardization of examinations and whether it is of importance to modern day education system or not. Thesis statement Standardized test may measure the educational performance of a student but they do not fulfill the ultimate goals of education which are personal improvement and learning. Therefore, it is important to consider the incorporation of better techniques that will enhance learning. Why standardized tests are used The use of standardized tests as explained by Christie et al (2011) is incorporated in the educational system by the teachers, educational administrators and governments in order to improve the quality of education. It has been used over the years to test the performance of the teacher, the student and the school. It is also believed that continuous assessment is helpful in understanding the trend in educational development of a student. Additionally, standardized testing increases the accountability of the teacher, the school and school systems. If testing is accompanied with sanctions or incentives, it can be helpful in creating school reforms and fasten educational changes. According to Golan et al (1991), the testing is conducted in specialized levels such as the national levels, district levels and other regional levels. It is used by educational authorities to set standards that all schools should meet. The tests can also be used to define classroom instruction. In cases of poor general performance, the teacher may be required to employ a different teaching method or undergo training. Teachers can also use results to define teaching methods that are effective for individual students. Standardized testing therefore plays a role in helping teachers to understand the correct teaching approach for the class. Literature review This literature review looks into literal works that have been done by five different studies on the effects that standardization of tests has on the student personal growth and performance. It analyses several ways through which standardized testing affects the students. According to Golan et al (1991), some of the effects include accountability pressure, pressure to perform, psychological ad self esteem issues. The next subtopics are analysis of the main effects from five different previous studies. Accountability pressure As explained by Golan et al (1991), most schools are rated according to their performance. These ratings play a role in the educational progress of the school. The promotion of a student is also dependent on the standardized test. This therefore puts students under pressure to perform and graduate or be promoted to the next level. Similarly, the same pressure is experienced by the teachers which affect their teaching habits. It is common for school administrators to use the performance of the students to evaluate the teacher instead of evaluating the student. Therefore, the pressure to perform that is felt by the teachers is transferred to students. Additional pressure is placed on the teachers and students from administrators, parents and peers (Elliot et al 2011). A similar factor is discussed by Deerman et al (2008), who note that using the test results the knowledge and skills of a school are well known. They may help an institution to place students in appropriate classes depending on the performance and help higher educational institutions when seeking college and campus admissions. The high stakes testing has been important in setting up minimum qualification requirements. Therefore, the standardized testing increases teacher, student and school accountability. The accountability may affect how the school is run and aid in school improvement. It is also motivational factor for students. Impact on classroom instruction: Standardized testing that is accompanied by sanctions or incentives has both positive and negative impacts. As explained by Elliot et al (2011), the impact of the testing on classroom instruction is varied. For example, in the case of a well performing teacher the availability of an incentive will be a motivating factor. Consequently, the teacher is likely to perform better in classroom. The standardized testing that is set regionally also has a set curriculum that must be adhered to. It is therefore easier for a teacher to ensure that only relevant information is taught. The disadvantage of the method is the fact that some teaches will teach specific topics or subjects in a more exhaustive nature than others. This will lead to students that are stronger in specific subjects than in others. This does not enhance student learning. As further explained by Christie et al (2011), usage of standardization testing determines the amount of content that is taught in class and the time that is allocated to the content. Some teachers are likely to spend more time on exam preparation than instructional teaching. The negative effects of this factor is that despite the positive results attained by the students there will be areas within the same subject that pupils are weak in. Therefore, usage of tests reduces the content that is taught and the learning of the student. Golan et al (1991) also confirms that the likelihood of teachers narrowing the school curriculum increases when the students have to do standardized tests. This is done at the cost of other non-tested subjects such as fine arts. The higher performing schools may allocate more time to the untested subjects compared to lower performing schools which allocate more time to test preparation. Deerman et al (2008) have also mentioned in their report that teachers will narrow down what they should teach and focus on what will be tested on. This is done at the cost of other factors such as instructional, disciplinary, all-round and creative teaching. They then opt to use methods that do not require critical thinking, research and creative thinking for methods that will help a student to pass the exam. These simple methods include memorization of exam answers. In addition to that the standardization of exams does not allow for diversity in teaching methods. They also do not provide any special teaching methods for ethnic and racial minorities, students from low income backgrounds and students with low language proficiency. The diversity that is present in most of the classrooms is not considered when setting the exams. This factor has several negative impacts such as drop outs of minority students due to poor performance compared to their counterparts. Impact of standardized tests on the student: The impact of the testing is the fact that most students are usually very anxious during the exam and this may have an impact on their performance. It is possible that the students will be less comfortable during the exam and consequently produce poor results. This denotes that the test results are not completely a measure of the student’s educational prowess. According to Christie (2011), standardized testing affects schools that have a higher number of minority students compared to those that have a lesser number. In the United States, the high school graduation tests are usually harder for minority students and students from low income backgrounds. The failure of these students leads to reduced self esteem and poor academic performance. In some cases it leads to school dropouts which results in increased crime rates. Generally, the usage of standardized testing affects the emotional development of the students. As highlighted by Deerman et al (2008), the role of education should be focused on improvement of the physical, spiritual and emotional. Therefore, some sanctions that are associated with results that are considered poor may have negative effects on the student. It may affect their self esteem, personal development and social engagement. It is noted that the fact that results are hanged in the public may affect students that are poor performers. In some cases, students that are unable to attain a specific grade may have to repeat their classes. This is emotionally and academically harmful. On the other hand, it noted that the test results can be used for counseling and career advice. Once the performance of a student is known, they can be used to direct their career path after understanding the subjects they are strong in. Brown et al (2012), presents a positive impact of the standardized testing. In the report it is stated that the testing can be used by students to understand their performance. It helps students to understand their weaknesses, strengths and areas they should work on. Apart from this, test results help a teacher to understand the students in order to apply the right teaching methods to improve their performance. On the downside, a student who has not performed well may be negatively affected by their performance. It will affect their emotional well being of the student. An example of this impact is in New Zealand high schools where high schools own comparative results of standardized exams so as to give the school the task of improved results. This is a positive effect of standardized tests. Quality Assurance According to Brown et al (2012), the main advantage of the usage of standardized exams is that they are an assurance of quality. The tests are set in high quality and from the set curriculum; this ensures that the students sit for exams that are of good quality. It also eradicates cases of locally set tests and exams that are biased in order to ensure that students are not treated unfairly. It will also help the educators and shareholders to understand the schools in the region. Poor performing schools can be set apart and relevant reforms introduced. This will help in ensuring that schools maintain quality and are of better performance. Additionally, this aids in enhancing fairness in the test. Despite of the quality assurance of these tests, Deerman et al (1998) notes that the set exams do not consider the diversity that is presented by the students in each school. Some schools tend to have a higher number of minority students. These may include students of differing ethnicity and race, students that are disabled, students from low income backgrounds and students that are not native English speakers. The presence of such diversity in the classroom requires a similar diversity in teaching and testing methods. It is unfair to test minority students like other students. The absence of the methods presents unfairness in the results that that the standardized exams produce. Score inflation The ultimate goal of education is an all round personal development. The use of standardized test gives results that are used to measure the educational performance of the student. As explained by Elliot et al (2011), most students are thoroughly prepared for their tests through narrow instruction methods such as drilling students on previous tests, mathematical tricks and teaching methods that depend on previous tests This implies that the student is well trained to answer the questions in the test even when they lack knowledge in other core areas of education. Therefore, the results obtained are an inflation of the true capability of the student. This is one of the greatest negative impacts of the standardized tests. They present results that are not a real measure of what the student has learned. As explained by Deerman et al (2006), standardized exams neglect the fact that students that will do a test are not on the same level. The exams that are set may therefore be harder for students of the minority group. Consequently, the results that are attained are not a reflection of the academic achievement of the students. These results presented are thus unfair and a wrong reflection of the capability of a student and the teacher. However, in schools that do not have minority students, the performance will reflect the performance in the test but not enhance the learning of the student. Discussion The literature review that has been outlined above has compared the thoughts of the positive and negative impacts of the standardization of the tests as done carried out in five studies. It is observed that the use of standard testing has both negative and positive impacts. Some of these positive impacts include the accountability pressure that is put on schools and students by the society. This pressure is effective in being a motivation for success for some students and schools. The comparison of results attained helps school shareholders and administrators to come up with appropriate reforms that will improve their schools. Other positive effects are the quality of exams is high and standardized for most students; test results can be used to advice students and for teacher evaluation. The negative effects of standardized testing include emotional distress of poor performing students and the minority groups, results that are not a true reflection of the student capability, excess accountability pressure which may lead to extreme cases such as cheating and leakages, decreased emphasis on the right teaching methods, reduced motivation of teachers and students after low performance, narrowed down curriculum is taught and other subjects are neglected, neglect and unfairness towards minority groups and tests that are high quality. the negative impacts are more than the positive impacts but can be corrected to increase efficiency of standardized testing on learning. Conclusion From the literature review above, it is clear that standardized testing has several advantages and disadvantages. They were initially a result of globalization but is effective in ensuring that the quality of education is maintained globally. The standardized results attained are useful in evaluation of the progress of the student, teacher, school, state and country. Despite the positive effects, it is significant that the negative impacts of the testing are handled differently. Most of the negative impacts can be corrected by the right policing and research. Standardized testing is the best method of testing but other testing methods must be added and be involved in the final rating of performance. References Brown, G. & Hattie,J. (2012), The benefits of regular standardized assessment in childhood education: Guiding improved instruction and learning, University of Auckland. Christie, R & Kok-DeVries, M. (2011), Standardized testing and the impact on classroom instruction, Universioty of Nebraska, Omaha. Deerman, M. , Flucker, C., Panik, E. , Powell, J., Shelton, K., Uline, S. & Notar, C. (2008), Standardized Tests: Bellwether of Achievement?, Jacksonville State University, Asian Social Science, Vol 4, No. 5. Elliot, W. & Hout, M. (2011), Incentives and Test Based Accountability in Education, National Academic Press, Washington D.C. Golan, S. & Herman, J. (1991), Effects of Standardized Testing on Teachers and Learning— Another Look, CSE Technical Report 334, National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing (CRESST) Read More