Standardized Testing

I will start my post by saying that I did not know much about student testing outside of the United States until I did a little research. After doing a little research I found that a large portion of modern countries use some form of standardized testing. In England students are given formal standardized tests at the ages of 7, 11, 14 and 16.These tests are mainly used to measure how effective the schools system is in delivering the national curriculum. In France students are given a national assessment at the beginning of 3rd grade, sixth grade and ninth grade. At the end of ninth grade students are tested again to measure how much information they have attained. At the end of high school students are given tests to determine their educational and professional futures. These tests will determine what careers the students are suited for. A distinct difference I noticed between the way the United States implements standardized testing and the way France and England do, is the frequency in testing and the weight that the tests hold. In many states here in the U.S. standardized testing is given every year from 3rd grade until 11th grade. In the state of Virginia if a student cannot pass their Standards of Learning (SOL) by the time they are a senior in high school they will not receive a real high school diploma. Instead they will receive a “Modified Diploma” stating that they finished high school, but this will not be recognized by any college in the state and will prevent the student from entering college. My personal opinion on standardized testing is torn. I do think that students need to be assessed in order to prove that information is being retained, but the methods should vary. A student may understand the concept that has been taught but have difficulty responding to the way the questions are formatted on the tests. My daughter began third grade this year, here in Virginia and the nervousness about taking the SOL’s began in the late summer. The school puts a huge amount of pressure on students when it comes to preparing them for these exams. Students here horror stories from older students about how hard the exam is and they form anxieties before they have even seen the test. My child excels academically in school, but in all honesty I do not know how she is going to perform on such a high stakes test. I think that student achievement should be proved through a portfolio format, using a combination of test scores and work samples. Resource US Perspectives on Student Assessment in Other Countries. Report Issued by the US-China Center for Research on Educational Excellence Prepared by David E. Kirkland http://ott.educ.msu.edu/excellence/web/publications/perspectives_on_student_assessment.pdf