Scribd
Upload
7 views

CLT 2

Uploaded by

Eliana Mesa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
7 views

CLT 2

Uploaded by

Eliana Mesa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

UNIVERSIDAD PEDAGÓGICA Y TECNOLÓGICA DE COLOMBIA

FACULTY OF EDUCATION-SCHOOL OF LANGUAGES


FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAM
Designed by Eliana Mesa and Santiago Amador

Are standardized tests a fair measure of learning?

Standardized tests are among the most arduous forms of educational assessment
today. Besides being an objective measuring instrument, they have become an
instrument of replacing the pedagogy outright. Its main weakness is that these tests
cannot capture the true essence of wisdom. They limit learning to a fixed set of
prescribed answers and stifle any possibility of original thought and creativity. The
bright student who comes up with a new angle to look at something is punished for not
conforming to the norm.

This is a process that instead of encouraging real understanding, reinforces rote


memorization. Through such tests, children are motivated to memorize specific pieces
of information rather than learn to think critically and independently. Thus, instruction
becomes merely repetition, not real learning.

The psychological impact is equally destructive. The constant emphasis on


sophistication creates intense stress and tension. During this time, a teenager
develops a traumatic attachment to learning, in which the fear of failure takes
precedence over any intrinsic motivation to learn or grow mentally.

These tests continuously bind education with inequality. Not every student has the
same means to get ready for this achievement. Those who could pay for coaching and
tuition contrast sharply with those who would not possess even basic books. These
tests are only quasi-objective; they are filled with prejudices buying the other cultural
traditions which predate other sections. They do not test real intelligence; they capture
the aptitude from adjusting to a specific system of testing. In this respect, they
systematically disregard many kinds of intelligence: creativity, emotional intelligence,
and practical problem solving.

Consequently, it is common to instruct in line with the dictates of the examination. This
reduces considerably the valuable creative aspects of learning, as time devoted to
activities like exam preparation has been sacrificed. The result is generally a lowering
of standards of education as depth is sacrificed for surface-level knowledge.

Education should be a process of discovery, a journey rather than a journey rife with
challenges. Each student stands to benefit from a system that recognizes their
individuality and potential for learning and creative activity. Standardized tests are a
means of control that resent the true potential of education and are not an evaluation
of it.

In addition, standardized tests pay little attention to the dynamic and shifting character
of knowledge. Education is not stagnant: it already continually updates itself to take in
the newest findings, insights, and skills. Whereas, standardized tests pass or fail on the
basis of old curricula, thereby not providing real-world needs. Critical digital ability and
interdisciplinary methods are left behind and inessential to these tests in this
technology age. This disconnection between what is taught and what is tested is,
however, making children feel distanced from authentic learning experiences.

Another important issue with standardized testing has to do with the respect of culture
and language diversity. These tests generally attempt to use a unidimensional cultural
frame and effectively neglect the richness sitting in between multilingual and
multicultural students. It considers an unfair disadvantage to such learners while
setting the background of a narrow worldview. Education should celebrate diversity as
strength instead of a right. In doing so, these standardized tests are actually working
against the very idea of what inclusive education wants to bring about.

Attention should also be paid to the environmental impact of standardized testing. The
large-scale production of test materials, energies taken up for administration, and
dumping unused or old subjects all contribute further to putting a strain on the
environment. These tests may claim to promote efficiency, but their environmental
impact stands in stark opposition to the sustainable practices education should be
developing.

Standardized testing further inhibits the cooperation and development of interpersonal


skills necessary for today's world. The tests generally focus on individuality and don't
deal with teamwork, signal, or working with other people. Success in today's
interconnected society is often hinging on building such collaboratory environments
and integrating perspectives that, in every sense, differ. Standardized tests allow
scholarships to put too much emphasis on solitary merit and don't prepare students to
another great extent to work in the cooperative environment of college and the
workplace. Such a narrowed form of focus limits the personal growth of students'
abilities to contribute to their development meaningfully in a globalized world.

In conclusion, standardized tests are not up to any measure in either fair or unobtrusive
ways of learning. They confine education to rigid systems-holding conformity higher
than creativity, stress higher than inspiration, and inequality higher than equity. These
poorly do to indicate many different and capable students' abilities and potentialities;
rather, they are perpetuating systemic flaws and not extending intellectual growth. For
education to successfully fulfill its charged responsibility, standardized tests must
change towards more holistic and inclusive methods of learning assessment. Then it is
from here that we are in the agency to be able to raise more competent individuals who
not only have knowledge but are also critical and innovative thinkers.

You might also like