Compelling Issue: Testing, Rationale and Impact

TEST! TEST! TEST!

Compelling Educational Issue & Rationale 

The issue is small, but it makes a huge impact. Testing.  Is it necessary or not? The education system consists of multiple standardized tests. These students will take these tests while in school, and sometimes outside of school. There are tests to take for the state, and then there are test to get into a college or university. 

ALL of these tests are to ensure that the student has achieved college readiness. But what does college readiness mean truly mean? Lopez (2013) stated that, “College readiness is not the belief that every student will go to college. College readiness is the idea that every student deserves the opportunity to be educated in a way that prepares him or her for college if he or she chooses to attend”. 

In the article Major Challenges Facing Public Schools in the United States, “National Center for Education Statistics research says that roughly 19 percent of public school students are not able to finish high school. More than 70 percent are not qualified to enroll for a college degree”. If the tests just show where the students are ranked, what are the purpose for the test to be taken? The test are not used to enhance the learning journey. It is more for enhancing the stress of students, and their teachers. 

Impact Statement 

As stated earlier, the students and the teachers gain stress from the tests. While the government gain statistics on the students knowledge. All for what? The determination of how much of the funds the school will receive.

Teachers are pushed and pushed to have the students perform their best. This means providing more resources for them to use, This means taking taking more time from their instruction time to perform the test. Managing students can be one thing. Being managed on the time and way to teach is another form of stress. A form not everyone can handle, but educators are forced to feel.

Students are the one that feel it all. The feel how much the teacher is stressing the importance of the test. The feel that that the teacher wants them to do well. They are intimidated.With so much pressure on a student, they are bound to feel uneasy on if they will do well. They get prepared during the whole school year for a test they will never know the score to. They will try their hardest to do their best, but will never know how they did. These tests do nothing for their achievement. 

Reference:

(2015, September 14). Major Challenges Facing Public Schools in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.publicschools.org/major-challenges-facing-public-schools-united-states/

 Lopez, D. (2013). No Excuses University: How six exceptional systems are revolutionizing our                                          schools. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu