By Brianna Arnold – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law senior Amita Sastry, just like any high school junior or senior taking the SATs, was stressed out beyond belief. She was stressed out not because she didn’t know the material but because so much of it was dependent on the score she got. When she was studying for the SAT she wasn’t trying to improve her skills, she was trying to learn shortcuts to maximize on the number of points she could obtain to get to get a high score. Preparing and studying for this one test was the dependent factor to see if she would even be considered into Yale, Brown or Harvard.

Standardized tests have been a part of Sastry’s academic life since elementary school. Sastry knows that they are in place to measure people’s skills and how well they are doing. However, they compare the scores to other students and the expectations colleges and other institutions have, rely too heavily on the score as a gauge of “preparedness” and almost like “eligibility” for college.

“The minimal skill set for tests and this one score on the SAT cannot possibly predict how well you do in college,” Sastry said. “I feel like it shouldn’t be emphasized so heavily and considered this giant obstacle to overcome to get into a school.”

Sastry is just one of over a million other students that begin to get clammy hands, have trouble breathing, have the inability to sit still, and even have nausea while taking standardized tests such as the SAT, ACT, and HSPT.

Standardized tests are dreaded by many students because standardize test scores are factors in how much federal funding schools receive and whether a student can get into the college of his or her dreams.

Katy Bowman, a researcher on the effectiveness of standardized tests, knows how much schools put pressure on students to do well on testing. They also set standards for teachers to meet in order their students receive good scores on their tests.

“Advocates say the tests raise the bar on student achievement and that they are the best way to ensure that students around the country are meeting similar curriculum standards,” Bowman said. “Proponents also believe that teachers will do more to nurture the learning environment within their classrooms if they are rewarded when their students perform well on standardized tests.”

Some people are on the fence about standardized testing, They are used to help students, teachers, schools, and parents know what students have learned and what they still need to study. Teachers can use information from the tests to design lessons to help their students.

However, students are often stressed out and worried because one test defines their placement, and or acceptance in other schools.

There are positive and negative views on if standardized test are effective.

Those in favor of standardized testing believe that the tests are proven to measure the success of a student. Without testing, they argue, policy makers would have to rely on tests scores by individual schools and teachers who care a lot about the success of their students. They are argue that standardized tests are not narrowing the curriculum; they are focusing on important basic skills all students can master. According to a study in the October 28, 2005, issue of the peer-reviewed Education Policy Analysis Archives, teachers in four Minnesota school districts said standardized testing had a positive impact, improving the quality of the curriculum while raising student achievement.

Many parents also approve of standardized tests. In June/July 2013, the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that 75% of parents say standardized tests “are a solid measure of their children’s abilities” and 69% say the tests “are a good measure of the school’s quality.” 93% of parents say standardized tests “should be used to identify areas where students need extra help” and 61% say their children “take an appropriate number of standardized tests.”

Many schools are now using performance assessments. They measure a student’s ability to do an actual task, such as conducting a chemistry experiment. This test focuses directly on complex performances and the knowledge and skills required to complete these tasks. However, performance assessments can be seen as difficult, costly to score, and require a lot of classroom time.

Opponents of standardized tests argue that the tests do not give a complete picture of a student’s knowledge. Some students are not good test takers or have bad days here and there.

Many teens taking the SATs argue that the multiple-choice format used on standardized tests is not the correct assessment tool for the real world. It encourages only a way of thinking that there are only right and wrong answers. Some argue that the format is also biased toward male students, who studies have shown adapt more easily to the game-like point scoring of multiple-choice questions.

In a video posted to Facebook by the White House on October 24, 2015, President Obama pledged to take steps to reduce testing overload.

In “moderation, smart, strategic tests can help us measure our kids’ progress in school, and it can help them learn,” Obama said. “But I also hear from parents who, rightly, worry about too much testing, and from teachers who feel so much pressure to teach to a test that it takes the joy out of teaching and learning, both for them and for the students. I want to fix that.”

Testing is shown to affect eighth-graders the most, who spend an average of 25.3 hours during the school year taking standardized tests. Testing affects even younger students, with the average pre-K class giving 4.1 standardized tests. Students are often overwhelmed by how much testing teachers give out tests to prepare for these standardized tests. Many teachers have to change their instruction to “teach to the test” and believe that tests do not give students a view of the real world.

Supporters of standardized tests argue their cost-effectiveness and help in data analysis. Standardized tests are graded by computers rather than humans. This reduces costs by eliminating the need to pay graders as well as enforcing objective standards. The second advantage is seen when a local school board needs to determine the overall level of achievement. Standardized tests could help ensure, for example, that all of the sixth-grade students will be evaluated on a common, objective standard. This allows a fair evaluation of sixth-graders and helps determine which schools or classes may be in need of improvement.

Just like Sastry, thousands of teens struggle when it comes to taking standardized tests. They put a lot of pressure on students when it comes to college. Often, teens get stressed about taking tests in general and aren’t the best test takers. Standardized tests do have some benefits, they give colleges and schools a look into how well a student is doing other schools and colleges. Testing students starting when they’re younger helps them adjust to test taking strategies.

There are ways to prepare for the test like SAT and ACT; however,most of them cost money. Kahn Academy along with the College Board allow students to study from their PSAT scores and design a schedule to help them review for their next SAT. Test taking is hard to master but with time can improve.

There isn’t a definite answer to whether standardized tests are bad or good. Students that are worried about testing should see a counselor or work with their teacher in order to improve their scores. Standardized testing has been going on for decades and doesn’t seem to be going away.

(Some information courtesy cogito.edu, procon.org, washingtonpost.com, teaching.about.com, usnews.com, and everydaydebate.com)