Cost
Purposes
Potpourri
Negatives
Benefits
100
How much does the SAT or ACT cost?
The SAT costs $52.50 per test attempt. The ACT costs $46-62.50 per test attempt.
100
What is the purpose of AP and IB exams?
To determine college credit and course placement
100
When was the first standardized test?
The first standardized test was developed in 1912 by Alfred Binet and Stanford Professor Lewis Terman.
100
How does standardized testing change curriculum?
Standardized testing narrows the curriculum taught in schools and forces schools to devote time to test preparation. "Emphasizes preparing students for standardized assessments in math and literacy at the same time they shortchange the social studies, history and basic citizenship education.” -Westheimer.
100
How many widely recognized advantages are known from taking standardized tests? Give an explanation.
There are four recognized advantages... especially because that is how many categories we chose to discuss.
200
How much does it cost all states participating in standardized tests every year?
$1.7 billion is being spent by states every year on standardized testing: In a study done in 2012, it was found that $600 billion is spent in total, every year).
200
What is the purpose of state tests?
To give a standard benchmark with which to compare students and inequalities.
200
How much does the CEO of College Board make?
CEO Davide Coleman earns $1.3 million, while the executives earn on average $300,000 each.
200
How does standardized testing measure critical thinking ability?
Standardized testing does not measure critical thinking. Instead, these tests measure pre-known knowledge and facts that students are expected to have learned. The multiple-choice format implies that answers are only right or wrong, which does not allow for "situational circumstances" in the critical thinking process. Unfortunately, some students can be both poor test-takers and highly intelligent. Likewise, there are students who are great test takers that cannot apply their knowledge in the real world.
200
What is a benefit of doing well on the SAT/ACT?
You are more likely to get into a good college and receive scholarship money if you do well on either the SAT or the ACT. In the classroom, every teacher grades differently and has unique evaluation standards. For this very reason, admission committees cannot solely evaluate overall GPAs. Thus, standardized testing levels the playing field and provides colleges with objective data to compare prospective students to.
300
What is is the difference in SAT average score between the highest family income and the lowest family income?
In a study done in 2013, SAT averages of college-bound seniors by family income were estimated to be: $0-$20,000= 1326 $80,000-$100,000= 1535 More than $200,000= 1714 The National Board on Educational testing and Public Policy at Boston College determined that the standardized testing market is between $400 million and $700 million.
300
What is the No-Child left behind law (now replaced by every student succeeds act)?
Act that linked federal money with performance on test scores, used to make education more successful and reduce the inequality in education.
300
How can standardized tests be compared on a global scale?
The Programme for International Student Assessment is an international assessment that measures 15-year-old students' reading, mathematics, and science literacy every three years. The PISA includes a measure of both general and cross-curricular competencies, such as collaborative problem solving. The 2015 PISA exam assessed students' science, reading, and mathematics literacy in more than 70 countries and education systems.
300
How does the emphasis on standardized test scores impact "teacher pressure"?
Teachers are aware that salaries are dependent on student test scores. In 2011, 178 Atlanta teachers were convicted of tampering with thousands of students test scores. These “ethical failings” do not allow for "freedom teaching."
300
What is the benefit of statewide testing?
Standardized testing allows all students from different schools, districts, and states to be fairly compared because of the invaluable data the tests produce. The data is used by the Common Core State Standards and is used as an accurate comparison across states.
400
How many corporations run state standardized testing (for public school)?
3 corporations run state standardized testing. Harcourt Education owns 40% of the market, CTB McGraw-Hill owns 40% of the market, Riverside owns 20%.
400
What is the purpose of the SAT/ACT?
To project first year grades
400
Who grades the standardized tests and what complications may arise from the grading process?
Open-ended questions on standardized tests are often graded by under-paid workers with no educational training. Standardized testing scorers earn approximately $11-$13 per hour and need only a general bachelor’s degree (not related to education). A former test scorer stated, "all it takes to become a test scorer is a bachelor’s degree, a lack of a steady job, and a willingness to throw independent thinking out the window."
400
How many standardized exams does the average public school student take between pre-K and 12th grade?
112 tests. Based on a study of the nation’s 66 big-city school districts, students take about 112 mandatory exams and devote approximately 20-25 hours studying for each test (not including regular tests and quizzes).
400
What percentage of students think taking standardized tests in beneficial?
The 2006 Public Agenda survey of 1,342 public school students in grades 6-12 found that 71% of students believe the number of tests taken is "about right" and 79% believe test questions are "fair."
500
How much do families spend on test prep?
In a 2015 study, average parents spent approximately $13.1 billion on test preparation including tutoring, preparation, and counseling. In fact, NYC tutor Anthony-James Green charges $1,000 an hour, while Princeton Review and Kaplan Test Prep cost $1,000-$6,000 for 30 hrs of a group test.
500
What is ESSA (Every student succeeds act)?
Rolls back a lot of government control put in place by No-Child left behind and gives more power to states, states must still remain accountable. Only one high school test required, testing for grades 3-8 still in place.
500
Who has the highest standardized test scores for science globally? What number is the United States ranked?
Singapore has the highest standardized test scores for science. The US ranked 25th.
500
Do standardized tests accurately represent a student’s abilities? How?
Generally, standardized testing is unfair to students who are not proficient in English or who have educational needs. Severe stress is also to blame for misrepresenting student ability. This can be represented in the Stanford-9 exam instructions that outlines the case of a student vomiting (due to stress) during the test. Moreover, standardized testing does not measure creativity, critical thinking, resilience, motivation, persistence, curiosity, leadership, civic-mindedness, courage, compassion, resourcefulness, honesty.
500
On average, how do standardized testing scores affect student achievement?
2011 research by testing scholar Richard P. Phelps estimated that 93% of studies on standardized testing, including the use of large-scale and high-stakes standardized tests, found a "positive effect" on student achievement.
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