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

Im sure you have felt personally victimized by the honor of No Child Left Behind and some sort of state-mandated standardized testing. Growing up in Pennsylvania, we had the PSSAs, 4 Sights, and Keystone Exams. They always had felt trivial, just they did serve some purpose as far as immediate impact to our school days.The use of standardized testing as a numeric tool of measuring students performance took off in 2002 with the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act ( exchangeable 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 fit that all students score a proficient on the reading and math examinations by the year 2014 (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 als o be seen in the science exam scores (Standardized Tests, 2003).Its blatantly obvious that the theory of NCLB testing has many flaws and needs to be revisited. There is completedly too much tenseness 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 question 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 proficient on the PSSAs. Standardized testing causes unwanted stress on students at increasingly younger ages (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 twin of culture and values in our society is what makes us the 31st smartest nation in the cou ntry.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 CitedBrevetti, Vincent. Standardized Testing. The newfound York Times. The New York Times, 04 Nov. 2003. Web. 05 Feb. 2015.Standardized Tests ProCon.org. ProConorg Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2015.Strauss, Valerie. Chinas 10 New and Surprising School Reform Rules. Washington Post. The Washington Post, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2015.