Running Head: GOOD OR BAD

Standardized Testing: Good or Bad?

Tyler Bauer
University at Buffalo

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Standardized Testing: Good or Bad?

Standardized testing was originally created to help educators and the public understand
the affects of the education of individual students. By providing a test to the general public, a
teacher or administrator can recognize the students who are doing well in a particular subject
area and identify the areas where improvement is needed. Over time, the use of standardized
testing has become a controversial topic. Experts seem to have taken a positive or a negative
stance on the importance of standard testing on the national scale. With the popularity of tests
such as the SAT and ACT for college admissions, college counselors should focus on the ways to
increase awareness and strategies for taking these standardized tests to aid students in earning
scholarships or admission to college. In this paper, first I will discuss the importance of college
counselors in high schools with knowledge of standardized tests. Secondly, I will discuss the
benefits and drawbacks of standardized testing.
Counselors and Standardized Tests
Whatever a counselors view on standardized testing, the college admission officers of a
majority college institutions see the scores of the SAT or ACT as the second most important
criteria for a college admission (National Association of College Admission Counseling, 2015).
As individuals who research high school testing, counselors understand that the role of
standardized testing in predicting academic success is not entirely accurate. High school grades
are a better predictor of academic success in a college students first year than standardized
testing (National Association of College Admission Counseling, 2015). Unfortunately, the focus
of standardized testing by college admissions has lead counselors to understand many facts about
standardized testing.
When the ACT and SAT process begins for high school students, counselors are seen as
the first line of contact about advisement regarding what to do to prepare for standardized
testing. The counselors must know the ways that colleges use standardized testing scores, how an
individual can register for the test, and ways of reporting standardized testing scores and how
much time a student and family should dedicate to the standardized testing process. Thus a
counselor should always be finding the times of workshops and various opportunities students
can utilize in order to achieve a higher score on standardized tests (National Association of
College Admission Counseling, 2015).

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Counselors of a high school must also be able to understand what the scores of the
standardized test scores mean for the high school and individual students. For instance, after
taking the SAT, the test scores show a high percentage of students did not perform well in a
certain subject. The counselor then must be able to look at the scores and identify trends in their
respective schools. Once a counselor notices a trend, the counselor can create programs that aids
in increasing the scores in the subject that a high percentage of students do not perform well in
the SAT (National Association of College Admission Counseling, 2015).
Lastly, counselors in high schools must understand the standardized tests students take so
that they can communicate to not only students and families but to administrators, teachers and
perspective colleges. By becoming well versed in the subjects, counselors can advocate for the
students that recently completed the tests or speak to the colleges about the necessary
requirements for the admission process. Since standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT are so
critical, it is important for high school counselors to understand and research the latest trends
with standardized tests (National Association for College Admission Counseling, 2015).
Standardized Testing
The use of standardized testing in education is not a new topic. Ever since the beginning
of the 1900s, standardized testing has been criticized and praised (Moon, Brighton & Callahan,
2003). Although being utilized in the past, standardized testing was not as widely used as it is
today. In the 1970s the competency movement led to an increase in standardized testing in
schools (Mood, Brighton, & Callahan, 2003). This increase lead to a government mandates of
standardized testing to ensure success. Even to this day, standardized testing is seen as a hot topic
among educations in high schools across the United States (National Association for College
Admission Counseling, 2015). First, I will discuss the benefits of standardized testing. Second, I
will discuss the drawbacks.
Benefits
Standardized testing has many benefits across the United States. The College Board in
1999 stated that the increase of standardized testing raises the academic achievement of all
learners (Moon, Brighton & Callahan, 2003). The test is able to be administered to a large
audience, which makes the process easier to access the levels of academic achievement of each
student in the United States. In a way, the use of standardized testing creates a way to define
academic success (Stiggins, 2002). By measuring the grades of student across the United States,

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high schools and government officials can turn to different high schools for potential advice for
academic achievement. For instance, if a school scores low on a particular section of the SAT, the
school can look towards a school that has scores some of the highest in the country. The
government has turned to incentives for high schools that perform well on standardized test be
providing awards (Stiggins, 2002). This can be because higher test scores on standardized tests
indicate a higher quality of schooling (Wiliam, 2010).
Another benefit of standardized testing lies in the accountability of high schools (Wiliam,
2010; Stiggins, 2002). By holding schools accountable, administrators and teachers are always
looking for ways to improve the methods and ways to educate students in their classes. The
standardized tests hold schools accountable by having tangible scores that can be shown to the
public and government to showcase improvements and the importance to the wide array of
individuals (Stiggins, 2002). By using assessment and holding schools accountable, schools can
create well implemented and designed programs for students, especially minorities which has
shown an increase in standardized testing scores when utilizing the designed programs (Camara
& Schmidt, 1999). The large scale assessment done by standardized testing is a major benefit for
education.
Drawbacks
The drawbacks of standardized testing seem to be much easier to find in academic
databases. Studies have shown drawbacks in standardized testing for teachers and students
(Kohn, 2000; Moon, Brighton & Callahan, 2003). Because of the focus of standardized testing
such as the ACT and SAT in college admissions, schools tend to spend resources on the tests
rather than spending resources on the teaching that is taking place at the school (Stiggins, 2002).
Because resources are harder to come by at public schools, researchers have stated that the use of
standardized testing is a way to make private schools look better than public schools (Kohn,
2000). The next two subsections focus on the two groups mentioned above: teachers and
students.
Teachers. The educators in high schools are impacted by standardized tests. One of the benefits
of standardized testing, as mentioned prior, lies in the accountability of the schools (Wiliam,
2010). Unfortunately, government officials and the public rely heavily on the scores of
standardized testing rather than the education of the individual student (Mood, Brighton &
Callahan, 2003). Therefore, the administrators pressure the teachers to increase their test scores

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on standardized tests rather than the education of the student as a whole. Teachers feel as if they
need to follow a standardized testing format in the classroom (Moon, Brighton & Callahan,
2003) which inhibits the education of a students critical thinking skills (Bhattacharyya, Junot &
Clark, 2013). Some of the strategies that teachers have to follow in the standardized testing
format are against what they believe are the right methods of teaching (Moon, Brighton &
Callahan, 2003).
Due to the increase of discontent in the focus of standardized teaching, more novice
teachers are becoming nervous about the increased focus on student standardized test scores
(Bhattacharyya, Junot & Clark, 2012). These new generations of teachers coming in are already
beginning to dislike the structure that has been put in place. Perhaps, this can be a reason why
many educators are leaving the field of teaching (Kohn, 2000). Regardless, the impact of
standardized testing on teaching evaluations causes teachers to focus on the average student
rather than the most intelligent or a student that needs more time to understand subjects than
others (Moon, Brighton & Callahan, 2003).
Students. Standardized testing is administered to the students in a critical developmental time of
a students life. In particular, students in high school take the ACT and/or SAT during a time of
mixed emotions from work in class, extracurricular activities, post-graduation plans and life
transitions from teenager to adult. Therefore, the implications of a test that is given almost yearly
can have a profound impact on a students self-esteem especially when the test is important for
the student. For instance, students who do not do well on standardized tests feel more helpless
than students who do well on standardized tests (Stiggins, 2002). Students might need to visit
counseling services after taking standardized tests, or potentially even before due to stress and
anxiety. Schools that give standardized tests that have a high impact on an individuals future are
more likely to have higher dropout rates (Clarke, Haney & Madaus, 2000). Each student is
different in the ways they cope with the stressors of standardized tests as well as in ways that
they cannot change.
Standardized tests have shown to be biased in many ways (Kohn, 2000). Socio-economic
status has an impact on the scores on standardized tests (Camara & Schmidt, 1999). Students
considered in upper class, are more like to score higher than students who are in the middle and
lower classes (Kohn, 2000). This can be due to many factors. One can be from what was
mentioned above, upper class students have the ability to attend private schools which are

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favored with standardized testing (Kohn, 2000). Another reason may lie in the resources that
upper class students can utilize such as SAT-prep classes which lower class students do not have
the ability to utilize (Kohn, 2000).
Not only are lower socio-economic students disadvantaged from standardized tests,
minorities are at a disadvantage as well (Camara & Schmidt, 1999). Due to the hardships that
minorities face, such as discrimination, inadequate academic preparation and poverty, minority
students, are more like to score lower on standardized tests than the dominant group (Camara &
Schmidt, 1999). Even mindset going in to a standardized test can have an effect on an individual
students score (Bhattacharya, Junot & Clark, 2013). If minorities are discriminated against or
feel discriminated against before a standardized test, the individuals are more likely to score
lower on the test. Stereotypes on minority students and woman have lead to lower standardized
test scores (Good, Aronson & Inzlicht, 2003). For instance, women are more likely to score
lower in the math section on standardized tests when feeling stereotyped (Good, Aronson &
Inzlicht, 2003). A way to combat this is to provide experiences to minority students to prove that
they are capable of doing the work that they have been pressured to think they cannot (Good,
Aronson & Inzlicht, 2003).
Conclusion
Standardized testing has been a part of the United States education system for more than
a hundred years. The impacts of standardized testing and its foundation are deeply rooted in the
education system. Therefore, high school counselors should be educated in standardized testing
in a variety of ways. Counselors can begin by telling students and families the format of
standardized tests and dates along with the score calculations. Once the students have an
expectation of the standardized test, the student can begin mentally preparing for the date of the
exam. Counselors should understand the positive and negative feedback on standardized tests.
The benefits of having a proper assessment method to compare students from across the United
States has allows colleges and universities to recruit students through merit-based scholarships.
Unfortunately, the standardized tests that are typically admitted are incredibly biased towards
certain students, in particular minority students, low socio-economic students and woman. Some
of the ways that counselors can help students is through targeted programming towards the
students who are affected by the biases of standardized testing.

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References

Bhattacharyya, S., Junot, M., & Clark, H. (2013). Can you hear us? Voices raised against
standardized testing by novice teachers. Creative Education, 4(10), 633.
Camara, W. J., & Schmidt, A. E. (1999). Group differences in standardized testing and social
stratification.
Clarke, M., Haney, W., & Madaus, G. (2000). High Stakes Testing and High School Completion.
NBETPP Statements, Volume 1, Number 3.
Good, C., Aronson, J., & Inzlicht, M. (2003). Improving adolescents' standardized test
performance: An intervention to reduce the effects of stereotype threat. Journal of
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Kohn, A. (2000). Standardized testing and its victims. Education Week, 20(4), 46-47.
National Association for College Admission Counseling. (2015). Fundamentals of college
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Moon, T. R., Brighton, C. M., & Callahan, C. M. (2003). State standardized testing programs:
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