Standarized Testing- Test Supporters/Test Critics.

Issue	What test supporters say ...	What test critics say ...
Fairness, civil rights	Advocates say that testing all students is the best way to measure how effective schools are, and that state or local content standards ensure that all students are learning the same curriculum. Supporters also believe that disadvantaged students can be better served by holding their schools accountable when they perform poorly on tests.	Critics contend that tests can contain culturally biased content that may be unfamiliar to minorities and recent immigrants. Moreover, for students with learning disabilities or who process information differently, the nature of the test itself (be it multiple choice or short answer format) may be unfair. Critics also say that tests do not adequately measure student and school performance, and that judging (and in some cases punishing) schools with low test scores results in even fewer resources for the students who need them most.
What the tests test	Advocates say that developing and administering tests that measure students' knowledge against learning standards will ensure that all students have certain proficiencies and are not left behind or falsely promoted from grade to grade.	Critics say that many tests created for national use may not include content emphasized at the state level, resulting in students being tested on material they have not been taught. Moreover, critics warn of a "narrowing" of the curriculum, saying that the heightened attention paid to standardized tests forces teachers to ignore content or even entire subjects that do not appear on the tests.
The use of "high-stakes" tests	Advocates say that tests are an important part of "raising the bar" on student performance. Attaching test results to grade promotion, graduation, and teacher evaluation, they say, will send a strong message to students, teachers, school leaders, and parents that students must meet proficiency levels.	Critics point out that "test anxiety" may affect a student's performance, resulting in scores that do not adequately reflect his or her knowledge. Critics also contend that standardized tests are only one measure of student performance, and must be considered alongside other assessment tools, including classroom work, student portfolios, and teacher evaluations.
The validity of test scores	Advocates say that standardized tests are the most objective and accurate assessments of students' knowledge and skills. By creating norm groups or specific criteria to which students are compared, they say, test makers can measure each student's abilities with precision.	Critics say that test-making is far from a perfect science. Tests may contain errors, making results inconclusive. Furthermore, they say, a test's standard error of measurement may be large enough to throw into question the use of the results.
Using tests to determine school funding	Advocates say that schools should be rewarded financially for performing well on standardized tests, and that providing such incentives will motivate school leaders and teachers to teach effectively and raise student performance.	Critics say that financial rewards for schools in which students perform well is an inappropriate use of funds. They argue that it is unfair to expect students at schools in impoverished areas to perform as well as those in wealthy areas, and withholding additional funding for schools in need will stagnate performance levels.

FunEducationNow.org, (2012).Website-Fund Education now no excuses. Retrieved from

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