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Standardized Tests

Long Live Standardized Tests
Standardized testing is a test administered and scored in a consistent manner. The tests are designed in such a way that the questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner (“Placement” par. 1). These tests that seem like simple ways to evaluate students, and educational facility progress and achievement have become a major issue among many people involved in the education system. Many people feel these standardized tests are irrelevant to a student’s intelligence or academic progress for reasons such as validity of the test scores, and the emotional setback a failing student might acquire from low test score results. On the other end, many others feel standardized tests are needed to single out gifted and talented students, from the less intelligent students, and to determine a student’s placement in college or even the military. While many people disagree with standardized testing, it is necessary to enforce these tests for several different reasons.
Perhaps one of the greatest reasons for these tests is their ability to decide where a student will be placed. Placement tests are designed to measure entry-level skills in writing, reading and mathematics (“Placement” par 1). In other words, a student of high intelligence can skip unnecessary courses and be placed in advanced classes. If a student’s score indicates that some review is necessary, the student may be required to take college preparatory coursework that will prepare him or her for the college level (“Placement” par. 1). Students of low intelligence are placed in classes more suitable for them because it is unfair for them to be equivalent to a harder working more intelligent student. These placement procedures are necessary to establish fairness among all students. Another reason these tests should be required is because they help to track students in...