Rachel Penick

Mrs. Storer

English 3 H Block 5

20 November 2019

Accounting for All Aspects of a Student

I have always been a good student. I have always gotten good grades and done well on most of

the tests that I have taken. But being a good student and a good test taker are completely

different things. I genuinely enjoy learning and I work hard to understand the material that is

being taught. I studied all summer for the ACT. I went to a tutor once a week and did over 20

practice tests, yet, I still got a poor score. On the other hand, my friend only studied a week

before and memorized all of the concepts. He ended up getting a really good score. That is

because he is an exceptional test taker. A good test taker knows how to memorize the

information once the test comes around. These people do not retain the information after.

Standardized testing favors these types of students. Standardized tests do not improve education

in America because of the evidence that shows that they do not improve student achievement,

and they do not represent the best parts about education; therefore, colleges should

Standardized tests do not show the true strength of a student. They do not prove that they

actually learned the concept, only that they were capable of memorizing the information on the

test. According to an article called, “Do Standardized Tests Improve Education in America?” on

ProCon.org, it states, “After No Child Left Behind (NCLB) passed in 2002, the US slipped from

18th in the world in math on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to 31st

place in 2009, with a similar drop in science and no change in reading.” The NCLB was an act
that mandated the testing in all 50 states. After that act was passed, the US dropped in the

world’s ranking of student assessment. This shows that standardized tests do not make

Americans better learners, but actually makes them worse. In my own experiences I have noticed

that I remember the information more when it is a test that requires essays and short answers.

The tests that are only multiple choice I often forget the information immediately after I turn my

test in. I also see more students cheating on the multiple choice scantrons because it can be easier

to memorize or copy letter answers than whole paragraphs if it was a written one instead.

Standardized tests bring out the worst in students because it forces them to only care about the

grade they get, not the actual learning of information.

The best parts of education are learning about subjects that will give you strength in the

real world. Education diminishes my ignorance and allows me to have a deeper view of the

world. As I learn more, I can become more creative and confident with myself. I do not think

that standardized tests represent these aspects of the American education system. Since

standardized testing does not regard any individualism, it does not measure these aspects of what

makes education truly meaningful. According to the article, “Do Standardized Tests Improve

Education in America?”, late education researcher Gerald W. Bracey, PhD stated “some qualities

that standardized tests cannot measure include "creativity, critical thinking, resilience,

motivation, persistence, curiosity, endurance, reliability, enthusiasm, empathy, self-awareness,

self-discipline, leadership, civic-mindedness, courage, compassion, resourcefulness, sense of

beauty, sense of wonder, honesty, integrity." Dr. Bracy understands the importance of these

many elements in education and does not think simple multiple choice, black and white, tests

show the full experience. Education is much more than a scantron. Regardless, a number of

colleges keep their focus on a student’s test scores.

 Many colleges use only ACT/SAT scores to determine whether students will be allowed

into their college or not. There are quite a few colleges that offer guaranteed admissions to

students who meet certain SAT/ACT scores. According to “Prep Scholor” public schools such as

Arizona State University, University of Arkansas, Kansas State University, and many more

provide guaranteed admission for students with high test scores. The argument as to why they do

this is that it is an easy way to sort through large pools of applicants and it keeps standards from

year to year. But what they do not realize is that they are missing out on outstanding students

when they only rely on test scores. When a student’s test grade is not high, it is a sign that they

are not college ready. That should not be the case. According to Thomas of Claremont Graduate

University, “Both the ACT and SAT are highly problematic as tools in the admissions process.”

He pointed to research showing that students' high school grades and the rigor of the courses

they take in high school are the best predictors of college grades. Colleges should use GPAs as

their main indicator of whether they let the student in their school or not. When using GPAs,

they should account for the difficulty of the school and the difficulty of the classes they are

taking. Your GPA is an accumulation of all the homework and tests you have taken all year. This

is a better way of getting a feel for a student because it shows what type of student they are. It is

not just one test they take, rather an accumulation of many.

Conc: Being a good student and being a good test taker are completely different things.

Standardized testing favors the good test takers. But I do not believe that this is a good method to

display learning because it does not show the evidence that student achievement is improving

and this method of testing does not represent the best parts of education.