Although no single test should be used to determine a student’s skills and abilities, standardized testing allows for a general and practical indicator of the success or failure of the education system in American schools.

According to FairTest: The National Center for Fair and Open Testing, standardized tests are designed to give a common measure of a student’s performance.

Since there are a large number of students throughout the nation taking the same test, this type of examination serves as a common yardstick or standard of measure.

Educators utilize these standardized tests to tell how well school programs are succeeding and to determine the level of the skills and abilities found in today’s student population.

Although the arguments against standardized testing may be compelling in arguing the fact that a single test cannot measure a student’s capabilities, the truth is that there must be a way to set a standard by which students should be measured in order to determine what a student must know.

At EC, most entering students must take an English and mathematics placement test. The reason behind this examinations is to help determine where a student stands according to the college’s standards for these subjects because previous schools may have lower or higher standards for the same subjects.

The same reasoning can be applied to the examination being given to students across the nation.

Given that the government funds public education, it must ascertained as to which schools are successful in their educational programs and which are not, through setting standards.

In an effort to get American students in kindergarten through the 12th grade to perform at their grade level, the “No Child Left Behind Act of 2001” was created.

According to the Act, schools receive funding based on the students’ performance on standardized testing.

That is, schools with high test scores are rewarded with bonuses in the form of funds, while schools with low test scores are put on probation and may lose funding if their test scores do not improve within a given amount of time.

The fear of cutting the already deficient budgets may compel a school’s administration to teach based on testing, and therefore limiting learning experiences.

In recent cases throughout the nation, performing well on standardized tests has induced school administrations to provide answers to students, and therefore defeating the purpose of determining the effectiveness of a school’s educational program.

This was seen in a case where two teachers were fired after providing answers to the Texas Assessment of Knowledge of Skills Test, allowing 89 percent of their students to pass the reading test last year, while only 29 percent passed this year.

Although many may disagree with standardized testing and may consider homework and in-class projects to be a more effective manner of determining a child’s ability, opponents of standardized testing must also realize that an overall performance standard must be implemented in order to insure American students’ success.

Furthermore, standardized testing and testing in general forces students to think a certain way; the brain is a muscle that must be exercised. By forcing the brain to think a certain way, the way tests require students to think, students refine their thinking ability.

Regardless of the biases, inaccuracies and the limited ability to measure achievement attributed to standardized testing, the truth is that parents, politicians and concerned citizens look to these test scores to determine students’ performance.

Until a new method is adopted that more accurately determines American students’ performance ability, students must learn to take and to perform well in these exams.

This means that students should be taking comprehensive exams along with homework and in-class projects as part of the grade. If students are expecting to receive a degree and be professionals in a certain field, then they should expect to not only earn a grade by studying toward a test, but to also thoroughly understand the subject which is tested through an examination.