Schools Must Reduce Their Use of Standard Tests Essay -- Argumentative

I’m sure you have felt personally victimized by the law of No Child Left Behind and some sort of state-mandated standardized testing. Growing up in Pennsylvania, we had the PSSA’s, 4 Sights, and Keystone Exams. They always had felt trivial, but they did serve some purpose as far as immediate impact to our school days. The use of standardized testing as a quantitative tool of measuring student’s performance took off in 2002 with the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act (â€Å"Standardized Tests,†2003). Standardized testing was part of the initiative to become the highest academically ranked country in the world, surpassing the current highest ranked country of China. The ultimate goal of NCLB was to ensure that all students score a â€Å"proficient† on the reading and math exams by the year 2014 (â€Å"Standardized Tests,† 2003). Obviously, this goal was proven unattainable: Ironically enough, our students’ math scores dropped our ranking from 18th in 2000, to 31st in 2009. A similar decline can also be seen in the science exam scores (â€Å"Standardized Tests,† 2003). It’s blatantly obvious that the theory of NCLB testing has many flaws and needs to be revisited. There is entirely too much emphasis on Standardized testing instead of promotion of personal and academic growth. No room for conversation, research, or deliberation is open for exam questions because of the need to â€Å"move onto the next question.† (Brevetti, 2003). It is also wrong that a student who struggles in high school has to worry about their ability to graduate because of being punished for not scoring a â€Å"proficient† on the PSSA’s. Standardized testing causes unwanted stress on students at increasingly younger ages (â€Å"Standardized Tests,† 2003). Yes, NCLB is incredibly outdat... ...s on a pedestal. In China, there is a huge emphasis on the arts. They enjoy being tutored. They are passionate about learning. I believe the mismatch of culture and values in our society is what makes us the 31st smartest nation in the country. I believe that America has the capacity to be the smartest country in the world. We just need a shift in societal perspective to be able to shed the model of education we have known our entire lives, and be open to experimentation with more effective ways of education. Works Cited Brevetti, Vincent. â€Å"Standardized Testing.† The New York Times. The New York Times, 04 Nov. 2003. Web. 05 Feb. 2015. â€Å"Standardized Tests – ProCon.org.† ProConorg Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2015. Strauss, Valerie. â€Å"China’s 10 New and Surprising School Reform Rules.† Washington Post. The Washington Post, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2015.