Author: Fiona

Standardized testing should not be a one size fits all method. There are many different factors that need to be taken into consideration in the academic evaluation for each individual student such as, life circumstances and mental health. Standardized testing fails to consider these factors therefore it offers no meaningful measure of progress in addressing the students educational needs and evaluation of knowledge. Things that needed some improvement were my analysis. I feel like my first paragraph lacked detail when explaining my source. I also feel like i could have reviewed my work more before turning it in because I noticed a lot of grammar errors.  

Ever wondered how standardized testing affects a student’s ability to progress in school? Well for over 200 years, standardized testing has been used in public schools throughout the country and has been a method in which schools accept or reject students from their schools. The tests have had a lot of debate around it and teachers have questioned whether these tests are benefiting or hurting their students due to their negative impacts. Standardized testing is not a useful method for students and for schools. 

One reason why students are not excelling in school and tests is because of their own life circumstances and mental health problems. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America states that “feelings of disappointment, anger, helplessness and fear are typical reactions to test anxiety”.These tests put so much pressure on students, making it difficult to perform at their best. What’s not being taken into consideration is anxiety which can worsen students’ performances. The Washington Post “It looks like the beginning of the end of America’s obsession with student standardized tests” explains how research has proven that these tests are not beneficial and are only making it worse for students with life circumstances. Valerie Straus demonstrates, “They had long pointed to extensive research showing standardized test scores are most strongly correlated to a student’s life circumstances. Real reform, they said, means addressing students’ social and emotional needs and the conditions in which they live, and making improvements in school buildings.” This proves that schools should take the students’ mental health more seriously and make healthier improvements at school so the students feel more comfortable. It’s important for schools to do this because it will not only make the students more excited to learn but it will also improve students’ test performance. Moreover, Colleges relied on SAT and ACT scores to better their school’s reputation. The Washington Post “It looks like the beginning of the end of America’s obsession with student standardized tests’ ‘ that they would accept students with high SAT and ACT scores to better their school and ability to push students. Valerie Straus demonstrates, “Scores on the SAT or ACT became an important factor in deciding who was accepted. College rankings — led by the annual lists of U.S. News & World Report, which were heavily weighted on test scores — became powerful as students relied on them and schools tried to improve their rankings with targeted reforms.” This proves that colleges were more focused on their school’s reputation rather than their student’s mental health and ability to do good in their school. Instead of looking at the student’s strengths, they use their test scores for their own benefit. Lastly, students in all grade levels struggle with tests because of their own circumstances, while teachers and lawmakers need to make it more comfortable and convenient for them knowing that they have their own struggles.

Standardized testing is not flexible and is super time-consuming for students. The article, “Examining the Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing” explains how the tests can show work that the students are not too clear about which can make them anxious moving forward. Derrick Meador demonstrates, “Some students may excel in the classroom yet not perform well on a standardized test because they’re unfamiliar with the format or develop test anxiety. Family strife, mental and physical health issues, and language barriers can all affect a student’s test score. But standardized tests don’t allow personal factors to be taken into consideration.” This proves that being given standardized tests can ruin a child’s mental health. No parent wants to hear their child come home and tell them school was boring because they had another test, they should not be educated in this manner because sooner or later this will develop test anxiety within their child. Therefore being given a standardized test will not work out because they fail to understand that kids are at various stages in their emotional and maturity development. Kids want to feel accepted and not feel as if a test depicts their future. Moreover, “Examining the Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing” explains that, teachers tend to teach what’s going to be on the tests instead of teaching the students new material that will benefit and bring out their creative side. Derrick Meador demonstrates, “Standardized testing causes many teachers to teach to the tests, meaning they only spend instructional time on material that will appear on the test. Opponents say this practice lacks creativity and can hinder a student’s overall learning potential.” This proves that 

Teachers who spend time on just the material of the test fail to educate kids on the focus of quality education. Test scores do not let parents see what their kids are actually learning in school. It is very limited because most teachers are told to teach a curriculum based on standardized tests and not prepare their students for the real world. 

In the book The Test: Why Our Schools are Obsessed with Standardized Testing –But You Don’t Have to Be, Anya Kamenetz explains how standardized testing can affect schools financially. Anya Kamenetz demonstrates, “The feedback loop is closed when rising real estate values result in higher property taxes, meaning even more money flows to the schools that post the best scores. In the book, Warren advocates a universal public voucher system to neutralize the unequal effects of local property taxes on school funding, a position.” This proves that Warren wants money to not only be funded to schools with high test scores but to all schools regardless of their scores. Funding money to a school that needs it can help hundreds of students and teachers excel. Moreover, in the book The Test: Why Our Schools are Obsessed with Standardized Testing –But You Don’t Have to Be, Anya Kamenetz explains how the schools with low test scores get closed down so the states don’t lose money. Anya Kamentez demonstrates, “Schools that fail to meet test score targets are sanctioned, lose their leadership, or close; districts and states must give the tests and follow the rules or else lose billions of dollars in federal education aid.” This proves that standardized tests are not made for the student’s benefit of learning but to test the school’s teaching abilities. As said in the previous quote districts will shut down if they do not match up to their expectations as administrators. 

As expressed, these days standardized testing isn’t used to benefit kids but only ruins their mental health and lack of learning. If test scores are high it’s viewed as the staff in the school is doing a good job teaching, but if it’s low it’s viewed as doing a bad job. These tests clearly are made to benefit schools rather than educate kids. Students should be given the comfort and material that will bring out their creativity which will make them enjoy school and feel comfortable around their teachers and peers. Children should not be put under so much stress just for schools to use their test grades as a way to prove that they are a good school!

 

In retrospect some of my regrets would be letting the other students get to me with the bullying and negative comments regarding IEP. Today, I realized that the bullying and negativity was coming from a place of ignorance to the benefits of the IEP program. Everyone has limitations in some areas of learning. IEP helped strengthen a lot of my weaknesses and helped me overcome obstacles that prohibited me from getting the grades I needed to get ahead in my education. Another regret I have would be leaving the program before I could improve my testing skills. Had I stayed on the program a little longer I would have not struggled with my regents and AP tests in high school. I do understand that this is an area that I still need some improvement on however, I’m working on it by studying hard before my exams.

Throughout all of elementary, middle, and high school I struggled to overcome language and learning difficulties. These challenges left me insecure. I felt I was not smart enough for my grade level. I believe my anxiety was one of  the main reasons I did so poorly. I was never able to focus or participate in class because of it. Although I had plenty of teachers to guide and help me in English, I was not improving in my studies. My mother decided to put me in an IEP class thinking it will be easier for me to see a teacher on a one on one basis. An IEP class (Individualized Education Program)is a program developed to ensure that a child with an identified disability receives specialized instruction and related services.

In my experience, an IEP class has its pros and cons but the class is overall very beneficial for students that are struggling in any subject.  I began to see two different teachers around 3rd grade, my main teacher and the teacher that would take me out of class for my daily services. I was expecting to be removed from class which made me extremely annoyed. That meant I was not going to be working on lessons with my friends and sitting with them in class. Each class had a set of students that would need services, so we all gathered together in the 6th period to meet with our IEP teacher. I never made friends with kids from the other classes so I did not know how to approach anyone. Before class started, each morning I would be sent to my IEP teacher and be put on this computer program that would help me with my reading. It was extremely repetitive! My IEP teacher would also give us homework on top of the homework our main teacher gave us which was stressful on me and the others. Although I was having a hard time enjoying the class, I did learn a lot of important things from my teacher that still benefits me today. My experience with IEP in elementary school was difficult but it didn’t matter to me in the end because my teachers and my mom were seeing progress. Leading up to middle school, I chose to stay in IEP because I was getting the help I needed from my teacher and wanted to continue receiving the same services.   

Going into middle school with an IEP wasn’t easy because the teachers did not know where to place me. Each class was based on the students’ level of learning. I was removed from a class and put into another class because of my learning disability. It made me feel like it wasnt good enough. I started to realize that the students would make fun of me or the other students that also had IEP. Bullying can become a problem when in an IEP. Some thought being in an IEP was for dumb students who were delayed, but they did not know that it helped plenty of students like me with my anxiety and schooling. Middle school really opened my eyes and made me realize that an IEP was only to benefit me and made me appreciate my teachers and peers even more. Not only was I gaining so much from it, I also built a deeper relationship with my teachers. My IEP teacher towards my 8th grade left a long lasting impression on me. She was not only my teacher but a really good role model. I enjoyed seeing her because she would give me advice on life which helped me through life struggles. I was sad that I was graduating because I knew I would miss my teacher, but she still kept in contact with me throughout high school. 

In high school I began to notice that I no longer needed an IEP towards my last few years. My overall performance in school was better than normal. My teachers began to suggest that I be removed from IEP so my mom did what she thought was best and removed me. Being without an IEP  started to become a problem for me when I began to take my regents or any AP exam. I was always so used to having extra time on my exams to the point I started to depend on it. I’m a slow test taker and I needed way more time to finish my tests then the other students. During my SAT I had only limited time to take my test which led to me not finishing it on time and getting a very poor score. I was extremely devastated with this outcome because I knew that the SAT was extremely important for college. Luckily for me, due to covid colleges were making SAT scores optional. My AP exams also became a problem because I would never finish them on time and questions would be left blank due to my slow pace. Losing that extra time did not prepare me for major exams in highschool which led me to feel extremely regretful. 

 My problem with IEP was that I was relying on it too much towards the end. Having that extra time on tests was good but it never prepared me for when I wont have extra time on tests, for example in college. Another major problem I faced throughout middle, and highschool was the stereotypes students were putting out about IEP. It wasnt easy hearing other students make fun of me and others in the IEP class, saying that we were dumb and not fit for school. Made me second guess myself and my ability to learn which prevented me from actually trying and gave me even worse anxiety. Even my friends would question me about the class and ask me why I was in it. They knew why, but just wanted me to feel bad about myself. Overall my relationship with the educational system has taught me to embrace certain academic problems and learn from them. Learning from it has helped me be more prepared for advanced classes in the future.

 

Throughout this semester, reading and writing has taught me to think more out of the box. I’m not used to writing at a college level but it made me realize that sometimes you need to try something out of your comfort zone. Although I struggle with writing a lot, this semester has taught me to enjoy and have fun with my writing. I will use what I have learned this semester and transfer it towards my future by stressing less about how I should start my writing and focusing more on writing anything that comes to mind. Drafts are never and should never be perfect, that’s why we come back to our work to review and edit it. For example, in my RAB final draft, I wrote about standardized testing and its negative effects on students. I feared that my analysis was going to sound repetitive and unprofessional but once I got to go back and review my work I was more focused on proving my point in detail. My analysis states, “As expressed, these days standardized testing isn’t used to benefit kids but only ruins their mental health and lack of learning. If test scores are high it’s viewed as the staff in the school is doing a good job teaching, but if it’s low it’s viewed as doing a bad job. These tests clearly are made to benefit schools rather than educate kids. Students should be given the comfort and material that will bring out their creativity which will make them enjoy school and feel comfortable around their teachers and peers. Children should not be put under so much stress just for schools to use their test grades as a way to prove that they are a good school!” As you can see, in this analysis I focused more on getting my point across so the reader is more focused on my argument and the evidence I include to support that argument. Moreover, in my educational narrative I struggled with the same problem. I worried that my writing was off and I would sound like I was telling a story. The educational narrative was basically a story about an educational experience, so it really did not matter. What mattered the most was my experience with education through my grade school years. The narrative states, “Going into middle school with an IEP wasn’t easy because the teachers did not know where to place me. Each class was based on the students’ level of learning. I was removed from a class and put into another class because of my learning disability. It made me feel like it wasnt good enough. I started to realize that the students would make fun of me or the other students that also had IEP. Bullying can become a problem when in an IEP. Some thought being in an IEP was for dumb students who were delayed, but they did not know that it helped plenty of students like me with my anxiety and schooling. Middle school really opened my eyes and made me realize that an IEP was only to benefit me and made me appreciate my teachers and peers even more.” This shows that in my educational narrative I focused on giving a clear educational experience throughout elementary, middle, and highschool. I made sure to also include what I struggled with the most during this experience. Lastly, in my most recent writing project which was a fairytale. I worried that a fairytale would be corny and out of my comfort zone to write, but after reading it over i felt that it made the most sense because i was writing about a prince and his own struggle with learning. My work states, “As a prince he has responsibilities that he must act upon in order to be liked and accepted by his fellow citizens. Jeffrey faces backlash from others because of his speech disorder which frustrates him and his parents. He sometimes wishes he never had so much power and fame because what comes with that is rumors, and accusations made upon him and his family. Although his parents do not enjoy the bad publicity they still care and want to make their son feel as comfortable and loved as possible.” A fairytale was best fit for this assignment because I got to show how even people with high power struggle with their own issues, in this case it was learning and communicating with others. Overall, this semester has taught me a lot about how I can improve my writing. I find that writing can be difficult for me which leads me to become anxious about what I write, but I learned that thinking outside of the box and doing something different can change your mindset on things and help you improve overall.