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Argumentative Essay on Standardized Testing

Standardized tests are exams designed to measure a student’s scholastic performance. These tests are a controversial issue, because some people feel the test do not show the students’ intelligence. I am one of these people. What the test may cover may not be what the students have learned in class. However, some critics feel “that standardized tests allow administrators, teachers, and parents the opportunity to view solid evidence of the students performance, which in turn could lead to curriculum changes” (Banta, p.1). So, is standardized test really the best way to test? No, standardized testing is not the best way to test. Unfortunately these tests do not prove how smart a person is.

Standardized testing was a good idea, to test the students capabilities and to see how they compare with other districts, but teachers teach using different methods and focus on different issues. What they think is important may not be what other teachers feel is important or what the state thinks is important. So, as a student you learn more about what the teacher deems important, but are evaluated on by what the state thinks is important. Standardized tests are not a reliable way to evaluate someone’s intelligence.

Intelligence comes in many forms. Our society has many different ethnic backgrounds and variations in social classes. So, how can one test acknowledge all variables? The people who make the test would have to have in mind everyone’s socioculture theory and social learning theory. This is where people learn from their culture and from the social environment in which they grew up. These issues are a big argument among critics, who are opponents for and against standardized testing, because they say, “Standardized tests do not account for [the] differences in social and economic backgrounds among test-takers”. “Well the simple answer to the question is that no test can accommodate the difference...

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