We, the people of Hawaii, have the power to abolish or at the very least reduce standardized tests. Everyone has a voice to speak out about the negative impacts that standardized tests have on schools, teachers, and especially students. Get involved to support and improve the education of the next generation by putting an end to standardized tests!
It is understood that standardized tests help to check on schools to see if they are providing quality education, educators to see if they are teaching effectively, and students to see if they know what they have learned. However, if standardized tests are abolished, that odes not mean that there is no way of knowing how well teachers teach and how much students understand. Quizzes and final exams should still be given to students in order for the teachers and the school to know how much they understand and how much they do not.
Standardized tests have many flaws and have negative effects on schools, teachers, and students. One flaw is that some or most standardized tests do not help or allow students become creative in thought. “If our students are critically thinking, standardized tests will not measure their excellence appropriately.” In order for students to become successful in the future, they need to have diversity and know how to critically think. Students cannot be standardized (Lewis). Another flaw that affects teachers and students’ education, is that nowadays teachers spend more time “teaching to the test” than teaching other subjects or things needed for college or real life. Maricel Guinto, an eighth grade math teacher, believes that “the test take away too many instructional time from the classroom and it puts a lot of stress on the students and the teachers as well.” It has also been pointed out that not all standardized tests are “developmentally appropriate”. Meaning that since all students learn better in different ways and at different paces, not all students will do well on the test if they are not ready. Although, some students are better at different subjects compared to others, everyone still has to take the same tests. However, this is not a fair representation of each individuals intelligence. Some students will excel this because they are stronger in this subject. This does not mean that those who do not get a good score is stupid, it means that they are better at other subjects; that this is not a fair representation of their intelligence. This then creates useless test results. Overall, many teachers, parents, and school officials believe standardized tests are causing harm to students.
Standardized tests not only affect students now, but it will affect them in the long run. According to Tom McLaughlin, a drama teacher, “Integration can be dangerous if (any one subject) becomes too consumed or morphed into reading or math. We run the risk of putting these other subjects out of business.” For example in the long run, social studies may be not taught or heard about as much as math or any other standardized test subject. Also, when students get to college; to “real life”, they may struggle because they have not developed much creativity, originality, or critical thinking. Students are so used to taking tests and choosing an answer that they might not have learned much that is useful in the real world.
