Standardized Testing

Standardized testing has been popular in the United States for a few decades. Despite its popularity the efficacy of standardized testing remains a controversial debate from parents to teachers, to school district officials and political figures both state- wide and federally. Standardized tests originated to answer "the need of teachers and principals for a way to ascertain how their students were doing, and if they were doing as well as they could" (Baresic & Gilman, 2001).

In the 1980s, political concerns and the problems identified in A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983) generated uneasiness that even academically talented students were failing to reach their fullest potential. These fears were also fueled by international comparisons of mathematics and science achievement that showed that U.S. high school students were lagging behind those in most other industrialized

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terials that lower socio-economic classes may not have to offer to their students" (Mathews, 2001). Kohn also believes standardized tests tend to measure the temporary acquisition of facts and skills more so than the genuine understanding" (Mathews). Reading Comprehension Testing Reading Comprehension is an important component of the overall achievement test series for all students across the United States. The efficacy of reading comprehension- standardized tests remains controversial as well. A study conducted by Mac Glashan (1999) examined state-sponsored programs to measure the "reading abilities of elementary students in order to improve student achievement and increase school district accountability." Mac Glashan found "overall figures improved from 66 % and 81%, the first time the schools used a standardized assessment measure to gauge both comprehension and word recognition." The Harcourt Brace Achievement Test A large body of research has been completed to determine the advantages and disadvantages of a variety of achievement tools utilized in schools today. These measurement tools are used to assess student performance, including assessment measures such as the Woodcock Johnson, student aptitude, and means of in
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According Kohn, Abelman Fuhrman, Excellence Education, Achievement Test, Harcourt Brace, Brace Achievement, Brace Reading, Reading Comprehension, Mac Glashan, Journal Education, harcourt brace, standardized testing, standardized tests, achievement test, reading comprehension, 2001 january, school districts, chrismer 1998, harcourt brace achievement, brace achievement, harcourt brace test, et al, brace achievement test, american journal education, california school districts,
Approximate Word count = 2538
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)

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