Editing Standardized test (section)

==Annual standardized tests at school==
Standardized testing is a very common way of determining a student's past academic achievement and future potential.  

The Indian [[Central Board of Secondary Education|CBSE]] [[Tenth grade|Class 10]] [[All India Secondary School Examination|AISSE]] and [[Twelfth grade|Class 12]] [[All India Senior School Certificate Examination|AISSCE]] Exam, commonly referred to as the "[[Board examination|Board Exam]]'" are some of the largest standardized examinations. Around 4-5 million students attempt it every year{{cn|date=May 2025}} much more than [[SAT]] exam, and comparable to the Chinese [[Gaokao]] Examination.  

The validity, quality, or use of tests, particularly annual standardized tests common in education have continued to be widely both supported or criticized. Like the tests themselves, supports and criticisms of tests are often varied and may come from a variety of sources such as parents, test takers, instructors, business groups, universities, or governmental watchdogs.

Supporters of large-scale standardized tests in education often provide the following reasons for promoting testing in education:

* Feedback or diagnosis of test taker's performance:<ref name="Defending standardized testing">{{cite book|last=Phelps|first=Richard|title=Defending standardized testing|publisher=Psychology Press|year=2005|isbn=978-0-8058-4912-7|location=London}}</ref>  Standardized tests allow teachers to see how their students are performing compared to others in the country. This will help them revise their teaching methods if necessary to help their students meet the standards.<ref name="Oxford">{{Cite news |date=2014-10-29 |title=Pros & Cons of Standardized Tests |url=https://www.oxfordlearning.com/pros-cons-of-standardized-tests/ |access-date=2018-02-19 |work=Oxford Learning |language=en-US}}</ref>  Students are given the opportunity to reflect on their scores and see where their strengths as well as weaknesses are.<ref name="Oxford" />  The scores can allow parents to get an idea about how their child is doing academically.<ref>{{Cite web |date=Spring 2013 |title=Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing |url=http://worklife.columbia.edu/files_worklife/public/Pros_and_Cons_of_Standardized_Testing_1.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127224837/http://worklife.columbia.edu/files_worklife/public/Pros_and_Cons_of_Standardized_Testing_1.pdf |archive-date=2018-01-27 |access-date=February 19, 2018 |website=Columbia University}}</ref>
* Fair and efficient.<ref name="The Schools We Need: And Why We Don't Have Them">{{cite book|last=Hirsch|first=Eric Jr.|title=The Schools We Need: And Why We Don't Have Them|publisher=Anchor|year=1999|isbn=978-0-385-49524-0|location=New York}}</ref> Each test taker will have the same amount of time to complete the test. Every answer and overall grade for a standardized test is evaluated identically, therefore reducing potential bias in the scoring system.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Standardized Tests: The Benefits and Impacts of Implementing Standardized Tests |url=https://www.educationadvanced.com/blog/standardized-tests-the-benefits-and-impacts-of-implementing-standardized |access-date=2025-02-10 |website=www.educationadvanced.com |language=en}}</ref>
* Promotes accountability:<ref name="Defending standardized testing" /><ref name="The Schools We Need: And Why We Don't Have Them" />  Standardized testing is used as a [[Public policy (law)|public policy]] strategy to establish stronger accountability measures for public [[education]]. The idea behind the standardized testing policy movement is that testing is the first step to improving schools, teaching practice, and educational methods through data collection.  Proponents argue that the data generated by the standardized tests act like a [[report card]] for the community, demonstrating how well local schools are performing.  Critics of the movement, however, point to various discrepancies that result from current state standardized testing practices, including problems with test validity and reliability and false correlations (see [[Simpson's paradox]]).
* Prediction and selection<ref name="Defending standardized testing" />
* Improves performance<ref name="Defending standardized testing" />

Critics of standardized tests in education often provide the following reasons for revising or removing standardized tests in education:

* Poor predictive quality.<ref>{{cite web|title=FairTest criticism of the SAT|date=20 August 2007 |url=http://www.fairtest.org/sat-i-faulty-instrument-predicting-college-success|publisher=fairtest.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Standardized tests not always best indicator of success|date=20 August 2007 |url=http://www.fairtest.org/sat-i-faulty-instrument-predicting-college-success}}</ref>
* Grade inflation of test scores or grades.<ref>{{cite news|last=Paton|first=Graeme|date=July 6, 2010|title=Universities criticise exam 'grade inflation'|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7872573/Universities-criticise-exam-grade-inflation.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7872573/Universities-criticise-exam-grade-inflation.html |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Vasagar|first=Jeevan|date=August 2, 2010|title=Fears for state pupils as top universities insist on A* at A-level|work=The Guardian|location=London|url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/aug/02/universities-state-schools-a-levels}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Finch|first=Julia|date=March 10, 2010|title=They can't read, can't write, keep time or be tidy: Tesco director's verdict on school-leavers|work=The Guardian|location=London|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/mar/10/tesco-director-slates-school-leavers}}</ref>
* Culturally or socioeconomically biased.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hedges|first1=Larry V.|last2=Laine|first2=Richard D.|last3=Greenwald|first3=Rob|year=1994|title=Hedges LV (1994) An Exchange: Part I*: Does Money Matter? A Meta-Analysis of Studies of the Effects of Differential School Inputs on Student Outcomes|journal=Educational Researcher|volume=23|issue=3|pages=5–14|doi=10.3102/0013189X023003005|s2cid=36771659}}</ref><ref name="Sean Coughlan">Coughlan, Sean. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-24551446 Bright poor 'held back for decades'], ''[[BBC]]'', October 16, 2013. Retrieved on October 17, 2013.</ref>
* Psychologically damaging.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Neuroscience of Standardized Test-Taking|url=https://www.learningandthebrain.com/blog/neuroscience-standardized-test-taking/}}</ref>
* Poor indicator of intelligence or ability.<ref>{{cite web|title=Standardized Tests Don't Show What Kids Know|date=10 July 2017 |url=https://www.good.is/education/what-standardized-tests-really-predict}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Standardized Tests Not A Good Indication of Fluid Intelligence According to New Research|date=11 January 2014 |url=https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/other/standardized-tests-not-a-good-indication-of-fluid-intelligence-according-to-new-research/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Standardized Tests Don't Measure Intelligence or Ability|date=27 September 2016 |url=http://pepperdine-graphic.com/standardized-tests-dont-measure-intelligence-or-ability/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Observations: Standardized test scores do not reflect students' abilities|url=https://news.psu.edu/story/165456/2010/08/23/standardized-tests-not-always-best-indicator-success}}</ref>
[[File:2009-03-11 Student driver SB on N Gregson St in Durham.jpg|alt=a vehicle from a driving school|thumb|If a teacher knows that a particular subject, such as [[parallel parking]], is not being tested, they may not choose to spend instruction time on that subject. This is true regardless of whether the test is standardized or not.]]Furthermore, student's success is being tracked to a teacher's relative performance, making teacher advancement contingent upon a teacher's success with a student's academic performance. Ethical and economical questions arise for teachers when faced with clearly underperforming or under-skilled students and a standardized test.

In her book, ''Now You See It'', [[Cathy Davidson]] criticizes standardized tests. She describes youth as "assembly line kids on an assembly line model," meaning the use of the standardized test as a part of a one-size-fits-all educational model. She also criticizes the narrowness of skills being tested and labeling children without these skills as failures or as students with disabilities.<ref>{{cite book|last=Davidson|first=Cathy|title=Now You See It: How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Learn|publisher=Viking|year=2011|location=New York}}</ref> Widespread and organized cheating has been a growing culture.<ref>{{cite web|author=U.S. News|date=2 May 2015|title=Cheating scandal: Feds say teachers hired stand-in to take their certification tests|url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/25/15430647-cheating-scandal-feds-say-teachers-hired-stand-in-to-take-their-certification-tests?lite|access-date=2 May 2015|work=NBC News}}</ref>

There are three metrics by which the best performing countries in the TIMMS (the "A+ countries") are measured: focus, coherence, and rigor. Focus is defined as the number of topics covered in each grade; the idea is that the fewer topics covered in each grade, the more focus can be given to each topic. The definition of coherence is adhering to a sequence of topics covered that follows the natural progression or logical structure of mathematics. The [[Common Core State Standards Initiative|CCSSM]] was compared to both the current state standards and the A+ country standards. With the most topics covered on average, the current state standards had the lowest focus.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Schmidt | first1 = William H. | last2 = Houang | first2 = Richard T. | year = 2012 | title = Curricular Coherence and the Common Core Standards for Mathematics | journal = Educational Researcher | volume = 41 | issue = 8| pages = 294–308 | doi=10.3102/0013189x12464517| s2cid = 121779439 }}</ref> The Common Core Standards aim to fix this discrepancy by helping educators focus on what students need to learn instead of becoming distracted by extraneous topics. They encourage educational materials to go from covering a vast array of topics in a shallow manner to a few topics in much more depth.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Porter | first1 = A. | last2 = McMaken | first2 = J. | last3 = Hwang | first3 = J. | last4 = Yang | first4 = R. | year = 2011 | title = Common Core Standards: The New U.S. Intended Curriculum | doi = 10.3102/0013189x11405038 | journal = Educational Researcher | volume = 40 | issue = 7| pages = 103–116 | s2cid = 51453603 }}</ref>

===Time and money===
Standardized tests are a way to measure the education level of students and schools on a broad scale. From Kindergarten to 12th grade, most American students participate in annual standardized tests. The average student takes about 10 of these tests per year (e.g., one or two reading comprehension tests, one or two math tests, a writing test, a science test, etc.).<ref>{{Cite news|last=Layton|first=Lyndsey|date=October 24, 2015|title=Study says standardized testing is overwhelming nation's public schools|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/study-says-standardized-testing-is-overwhelming-nations-public-schools/2015/10/24/8a22092c-79ae-11e5-a958-d889faf561dc_story.html|access-date=July 26, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> The average amount of testing takes about 2.3% of total class time (equal to about four school days per year).<ref>{{Cite web|last=Doering|first=Christopher|date=October 25, 2015|title=Obama plan limits standardized testing to no more than 2% of class time|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/10/24/obama-schools-test/74536886/|access-date=July 26, 2016|website=USA Today}}</ref>

Standardized tests are expensive to administer. It has been reported that the United States spends about US$1.7 billion annually on these tests.<ref>Kuczynski-Brown, Alex. "Standardized Testing Costs States $1.7 Billion A Year, Study Finds." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 29 November 2012. Web. 7 April 2014.</ref> In 2001, it was also reported that only three companies (Harcourt Educational Measurement, CTB McGraw-Hill and Riverside Publishing) design 96% of the tests taken at the state level.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2001|title=The Testing Industry's Big Four|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/schools/testing/companies.html|access-date=2015-01-21|website=PBS Frontline|publisher=PBS}}</ref>

===Educational decisions===

The National Academy of Sciences recommends that major educational decisions not be based solely on a single test score.<ref>{{cite web|title=Browse All Topics – The National Academies Press|url=http://books.nap.edu/html/highstakes/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080418052331/http://books.nap.edu/html/highstakes/|archive-date=2008-04-18|access-date=2 May 2015}}</ref> The use of minimum cut-scores for entrance or graduation does not imply a single standard, since test scores are nearly always combined with other minimal criteria such as number of credits, prerequisite courses, attendance, etc. Test scores are often perceived as the "sole criteria" simply because they are the most difficult, or the fulfillment of other criteria is automatically assumed. One exception to this rule is the [[GED]], which has allowed many people to have their skills recognized even though they did not meet traditional criteria.{{Citation needed|date=August 2012}}

Some teachers would argue that a single standardized test only measures a student's current knowledge and it does not reflect the students progress from the beginning of the year.<ref>{{cite web|date=21 November 2017|title=Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing|url=https://www.everettsd.org/cms/lib07/WA01920133/Centricity/Domain/2847/Pros%20and%20Cons%20of%20Standardized%20Testing.pdf|publisher=Columbia University}}</ref> A result created by individuals that are not a part of the student's regular instruction, but by professionals that determine what students should know at different ages. In addition, teachers agree that the best test creator and facilitator are themselves. They argue that they are the most aware of students abilities, capacities, and necessities which would allow them to take a longer on subjects or proceed on with the regular curriculum.

=== Effects on disadvantaged students ===
Monty Neill, the director of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, claims that students who speak English as a second language, who have a disability, or who come from low-income families are disproportionately denied a diploma due to a test score, which is unfair and harmful. In the late 1970s when the graduation test began in the United States, for example, a lawsuit claimed that many Black students had not had a fair opportunity on the material they were tested on the graduation test because they had attended schools segregated by law. "The interaction of under-resourced schools and testing most powerfully hits students of color", as Neill argues, "They are disproportionately denied diplomas or grade promotion, and the schools they attend are the ones most likely to fare poorly on the tests and face sanctions such as restructuring."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Neill|first1=Monty|url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010692217/OVIC?xid=782577cf|title=Standardized Tests Are Unfair and Harmful|date=Fall 2009|publisher=Farmington Hills, MI : Greenhaven Press|isbn=9780737747812|location=Detroit|pages=28–35|access-date=4 December 2016}}</ref>

In the journal ''The Progressive,'' Barbara Miner explicates the drawbacks of standardized testing by analyzing three different books. As the co-director of the Center for Education at Rice University and a professor of education, Linda M. McNeil in her book ''Contradictions of School Reform: Educational Costs of Standardized Testing'' writes "Educational standardization harms teaching and learning and, over the long term, re-stratifies education by race and class." McNeil believes that test-based education reform places higher standards for students of color. According to Miner, McNeil "shows how test-based reform centralizes power in the hands of the corporate and political elite—a particularly frightening development during this time of increasing corporate and conservative influence over education reform." Such test-based reform has dumbed down learning, especially for students of color.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Miner|first1=Barbara|date=August 2000|title=Standardized Minds: The High Price of America's Testing Culture and what we can do to Change it / Contradictions of School Reform: Educational Costs of Standardized Testing..|journal=The Progressive|volume=64|pages=40–43|id={{ProQuest|231959849}}}}</ref>

FairTest says that negative consequences of test misuse include pushing students out of school, driving teachers out of the profession, and undermining student engagement and school climate.<ref name="Holloway">{{cite journal |last1=Holloway |first1=J. H. |year=2001 |title=The Use and Misuse of Standardized Tests |journal=Educational Leadership |volume=59 |issue=1 |page=77}}</ref>