A standardized test in my opinion should not determine an
individual’s intelligence level. Most of the things on the tests have not been
taught to the students so why should they be penalized. I remember taking
standardized test and I was more concerned about finishing in the time allotted
and not what was on the test. If I was running out of time I would just circle
any answer without even reading it thoroughly.
In my opinion children can be assessed, but not with
standardized tests or using measurements. There are a lot of assessment tools
that you can use that are developmentally appropriate to show how well a child
is developing. We can observe children to assess how they are doing better than
depending on test scores. Observation and documentation of
student work along with performance based assessment provide direct evaluation
and provide useful information that parents and teachers can use.
Just
because a person passes or does not pass a standardized test it doesn’t tell us
how smart they are. I know children who can memorize and pass tests but don’t
know anything about the test other than what they memorized. The Iowa Tests of
Basic Skills (ITBS) are standardized tests developed by the University of
Iowa's College of Education I remember
taking the Iowa test of Basic skills even though I lived in Pennsylvania and I
was getting average scores. I didn’t do
great on the SAT but was able to do well in college.
1.
Educational tests are much less accurate than
most parents believe”
2.
Educational tests allow teachers to make
inferences about a student's unseen skills or knowledge, but these inferences
may or may not be valid. The skills and knowledge children possess can't be
seen
3.
High-stakes tests, depending on the particular
way they are constructed, can have a decisively positive or negative effect on
a child's education.
4.
Although achievement tests are designed to
assess a student's skills and knowledge, and aptitude tests to predict a
student's success in a subsequent academic setting, it is sometimes difficult
to tell which is which.
5.
Traditionally constructed standardized
achievement tests—designed chiefly to compare a student's test score with other
students' scores—should not be used to evaluate school quality
6.
Traditionally constructed standardized
achievement tests can provide parents and teachers with useful information
about a student's relative performance levels
7.
Even though only about 25 percent of a student's
success in college is related to the student's score on aptitude tests such as
the ACT and SAT, parents should (1) still help their children prepare for those
tests, but (2) avoid conveying a negative impression to a child whose test
scores are not particularly high
8.
Performance tests, although both difficult and
costly to score, often yield the most valid inferences about a student's
mastery of many significant skills
9.
Because educational tests (both teacher-made
classroom tests and commercially developed standardized tests) vary in their
quality, it should not be assumed that every educational test is a good one.
10. Although
an individual student's attitudes or interests are almost impossible to measure
accurately, assessing such affective outcomes on a group-basis can provide
accurate and powerful evidence of the quality of a school's instructional
program
Note: Visit the link provided above to see a more in depth breakdown of the facts
Testing in Germany
The test that
they take in Germany for graduation from school and acceptance into their University is
called the Arbiet. That test should not lower student motivation because the
students have control over what test they take, when they take the test, and
what classes they will take to prepare for it (Abbeduto 2006). The difference
between the United States and Germany is the way that they prepare their
students for the test and who is accountable for the student’s
performance. The curriculum that the
children are learning in school reflects what is on the Arbiet test. Students
in Germany have a choice of what test they will take and what classes they need
so they can pass that test
References
Abbeduto, L., (2006). Taking Sides: Clashing Views in
Educational Psychology. (4th ed.) Dubuque, Iowa: McGraw-Hill Contemporary
Learning Series
Popham, J. (n.d.). Ten
"Must-Know" Facts About Educational Testing. Retrieved August 6,
2015, from http://www.pta.org/programs/content.cfm?ItemNumber=1724
The German School System.
(n.d.). Retrieved August 7, 2015, from
http://www.partners-in-education.com/pages/germany/prolog_germany.html
