It is reported a 4% increase in SAT
takers from 2018, with over 2.2 million
taking the exam(College Board, 2019). Globally, there is an increasing trend that a significant number of
register for standardized
as IELTS and SAT. These standardized
are seen as a measure of student
, helping them open doors for future opportunities
as studying abroad and applying for scholarships. There is an opinion that standardized testing should be the official method to assess educational achievement globally and
ought to spread
.
, standardized testing methods are not optimal because of validity and reliability issues and these
promote superficial learning.
The first reason why standardized testing should be reformed is
its validity and reliability issues. Proponents of standardized
argue that these
provide an objective way of student performance, providing a standard line for uniform comparisons across different educational systems. Standardized multiple-choice
are considered uniform because they are machine-scored, eliminating the subjectivity of external factors.
, the individuals who construct these assessments have significant influence over the content and questions included. Meanwhile,
developers are often disconnected from the classroom experience, resulting in a disconnect between the
material and what
have actually learned, thereby introducing biases into the evaluation process.
, the determination of correct responses is subjective, as it relies on predefined criteria that may vary across different contexts.
, these opinions fail to account for cultural differences and diverse learning styles, which can disadvantage
from numerous backgrounds. Meadows and Karr-Kidwell (2001) stated that “standardized
publishers do not know the
for which they are designing the
.
-writers can
make mistakes. Sometimes questions have two correct answers or none at all”.
means that if
choose two answers or leave an empty answer, there is no evidence
their weak
.
,
in America learn history from an
American’sChange noun form
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perspective,
they can have some different cultural norms, ideologies,
valuesCorrect word choice
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compared to Vietnamese
. American
can be taught to promote equality and freedom which reflects their political values,
, the Vietnamese lens of history mainly focuses on patriotism and collective effort to fight the war. When a standardized
includes content
ofChange preposition
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American cultural contexts, Vietnamese
might struggle, even if they are equally capable.
, the reliance on standardized
as a marker of assessing student’s
should be reconsidered.
, standardized
could encourage superficial learning rather than fostering a deeper understanding of knowledge. Supporters of standardized
claim that
assessments prepare
with a clear guideline for studying, thereby promoting active learning. Marzano (2003) explains that well-defined assessment standards serve as a guide for
students'Correct your spelling
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learning, encouraging curriculum adherence and comprehensive knowledge acquisition.
, in reality, standardized testing often leads to a focus on rote memorization and "teaching to the
", which undermines deeper learning and critical thinking. To explain,
are taught to remember the trick to solve more problems as machines to get a higher grade in an exam, resulting in
being able to address similar problems they have learned.
might improve grades temporarily, it limits their ability to apply the knowledge to unfamiliar or complex scenarios. "Measuring student ability is not as straightforward as changing independent variables in an experiment, manually written questions can be interpreted differently, leading to varied interpretations despite similar academic
" Kohn (2000).