Standardized Tests

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses standardized achievement tests, which are a major part of the American school curriculum. The paper examines how these tests have seeped their way into all levels of schooling, and students from pre-kindergarden to high school have become accustomed to taking multiple standardized tests throughout the course of their school career. The paper contends that standardized tests are used to reproduce class and racial divisions and hierarchies and should, therefore, be eliminated.

From the Paper:

"Standardized achievement tests are a major part of school curriculum in America. This kind of test was first introduced to our schools in 1947 when the Educational Testing Service (ETS) was first established and administered a standardized test at 50 leading universities. (Schmitz 1991) The use of these tests spread and it was accepted into our culture that this is an accurate way to measure a student's intelligence and academic potential. High schools have been administering tests such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and American College Test (ACT) as prerequisites for being admitted to any college for many years. These tests have seeped their way into all levels of school, and students from pre-kindergarden to high school have become accustomed to taking multiple standardized tests throughout the course of their school career."

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