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The very fact that there will be a standardized test changes the way in which we are learning new material. Often, studies find that testing created to be high stakes leads to the narrowing of instruction and classroom curriculum. Especially when tests influence major changes and decisions in a student's life, such as promotion, teachers choose to teach to the test.

Teaching to the test is the practice of teaching students only the material they will be tested on, withholding extra information not vital to high scores. Studies found that the pressure upon teachers to improve their students test scores resulted in some educators neglecting materials not included on the test. This means that students are no longer learn through long term projects, reading physical chapter books, solving higher order problems, computer programs, etc. Teachers are teaching students by giving worksheets with questions formatted identically to the standardized tests. Some Maryland schools were found redesigning course objectives and restructuring course content all in an effort to improve their students' test scores.

Teachers are becoming increasingly stressed by the emphasis placed on standardized tests. The stress can even extend towards the families of teachers. Educators have so many things to do that many forget to prioritize their personal family lives. Legislation such as the "No child Left Behind Act" has made the importance of testing even more pertinent in the lives of both students and teachers. In some cases, student performance is linked to the salaries or their teachers and the job stability of educators, determining which teachers will continue to teach and which ones will be fired.

Teachers often feel a lack of control because of the increasing significance of standardized testing in the classroom. This exponentially increases the stress levels of educators. Their own personal careers, salaries, and livelihoods may be determined by how well their pupils perform on a single exam, one day of the year, at a single time.

Test scores can be affected by a great number of variables. How well students slept the night before, what kind of breakfast they ate, how anxious students are, how hot or cold they feel in the testing room, etc. are out of the teachers' control. Yet, these factors have a say in how well students perform on standardized tests, determining the fate of the educators.

I remember that when I was in middle school, some students would purposefully do poorly on standardized tests because they simply did not care. The test had no effect on them, so they didn't even bother putting in any effort when taking the exams. Yet, teachers' careers and salaries were at stake. Why would the government allow a bunch of obnoxious kids determine the success of hardworking Americans, who selflessly chose to educate the minds of future generations?

The self- image of educators is negatively affected by low test scores. Combined with the high pressure for their students to perform well on the tests, teachers end up providing questionable test preparation. This in turn increases the feelings of guilt and stress for teachers. Educators are torn between what will benefit the student as a whole and what will be most likely to aid in the successful completion of the standardized test.

If students do increasingly better on their standardized tests, a question arises- are students improving their broader learning or are the higher scores a result of teaching to the test? The stronger the pressure for teachers to improve their students' test scores, the more likely teachers are to resort to questionable measure to do so. The pressure put upon teachers is created by parents, school administrators, and other teachers. Interestingly, educators teaching in schools with increasing test scores feel the most pressure in comparison to schools with stagnant or decreasing test scores.

With all of these issues and problems created for teachers, are standardized tests even worth the trouble? Maybe schools should get back to simply educating students and preparing them for life once they become adults. There must be other ways to encourage learning besides high stakes testing. Curriculums designed to the test hinder students' learning possibilities. One resolution for high stakes testing is to make the tests not count, but then another issue is brought about. If the tests don't count for anything, can we really trust children to take them seriously?

Sources:
https://cresst.org/wp-content/uploads/TECH334.pdf http://www.nea.org/tools/fighting-stress-teaching-to-Test.html

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Effects of Standardized Testing on Educators

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The very fact that there will be a standardized test changes the way in which we are learning new material. Often, studies find that testing created to be high stakes leads to the narrowing of instruction and classroom curriculum. Especially when tests influence major changes and decisions in a student's life, such as promotion, teachers choose to teach to the test.

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If you didn't answer "all of the above," then: A. You haven't been paying attention, or B. You work for a testing software company.

develop a thorough analysis in an essay; conduct a laboratory investigation; curate a portfolio of student work; or complete an original research paper.

PBA allows students to demonstrate knowledge and skill through critical-thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and the application of knowledge to real-world situations. In other words, it helps students prepare for college, career, and life.

And when they share with the class, that helps reinforces everyone's learning, she explains. None of this is possible in an individual test.

PBA also removes bias and creates more equity. For example, Holland recalls a state standardized test question about decomposition for eighth-grade science: "The question asked about grass clippings after mowing the lawn, and students got hung up on 'grass clippings,'" she says. "Some had no idea what they were because they either lived in apartments and had no lawns, or they had lawns but didn't mow them because they had landscapers."

Stronger Relationships with Students

"Students always say that working together was the best part," he says. That's the best part for the teachers, too, because it helps them build stronger relationships with students.

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Standardized Testing is Still Failing Students | NEA

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Educators have long known that standardized tests are an inaccurate and unfair measure of student progress. There's a better way to assess students.

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Standardized tests offer an objective measurement of education and a good metric to gauge areas for improvement.

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Standardized tests are tests given to students that are scored in a standard manner that reflect how the student is developing in a certain subject. These tests are an extreme controversial topic in the education system because of many different opinions affecting teachers. On standardized tests, there are only one correct answer on each question. Compared to other tests where students can figure problems out in multiple ways, standardized testing is either a right or wrong answer. These tests have been apart of the education system since the middle of the 1800s. They have been given to students across the United States for years and years now. These tests are to evaluate how the teacher is doing with teaching their students and determine if they are doing the right thing. The majority of teachers do not like standardized testing and are trying to get rid of it.

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"Standardized tests have been apart of American education since the mid 1800s. Their use skyrocketed after 2002s. No Child Left Behind Act mandated annual testing in all 50 states." Students across the US have been dropped in the ranking list of academics due to standardized testing significantly. "Us students slipped from being ranked 18th in the world in math in 2000 to 40th in 2015 , and from 14th to 25th in science and from 15th to the 24th in reading."

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While teachers can plan a lesson and be very passionate about that topic to teach students, the test preparation for these tests can ruin it and take up all of that time. These tests have a reflection and have an effect on the teachers so it stresses them out and forces them to take a lot of time out of the day to prepare the students for the test. "Test preparation has negative effects on both teachers and students it minimizes the development of important skills that students should have, such as critical thinking and deep analysis, while also minimizing the time teachers have to teach students other important topics that could benefit them."

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Some people are very smart but can be bad test takers. A test does not determine how smart a student is and how much knowledge they know. There are so many more ways a Childs knowledge can be shown and represented than standardized testing. "Standardized tests only determine which students are good at taking tests, offer no meaningful measure of progress and have not improved student performance."

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On standardized testing, there is only one right answer every other answer is wrong. But educators know when students are engaged in authentic and meaningful tasks, they can arrive at answers that are not entirely wrong or entirely right.

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"Teachers are subject to evaluations that measure their effectiveness in the classroom. With the rise of accountability policies, a greater percentage of their evaluation is being devoted to the results of testing, magnifying the pressure to increase scores. Thus, if students don't achieve admirable results, teachers may be subject to lower salaries, or sometimes even be dismissed."