Students are critical in the formation and sustainability of a society. Teachers form the pillars of the educational process of the student, and thus, their work is crucial to the wellbeing of society. Regardless of the type of school, teachers are required to teach and enhance students’ performance. However, there has been an ignited debate on the issue of standardized tests, and both parents and teachers have raised concerns over the judging of students based on tests that in certain circumstances do not portray the actual performance of the students in both school and in today’s the competitive global economy (Trilling & Fadel, 2009) . To understand the issue of standard tests, assuming the role of a school principal will be crucial as it is a school principal that is the custodian of performance for both the school administration and students.
Both public and private schools use standardized tests in the United States each year. Students in public schools must take many tests to prove they meet the state and federal standards of education (Morris, 2011) . Despite their benefits as outlined by the state and federal standards of education, standardized tests are not a recommendable approach to evaluate academic performance from both the perspective of a teacher and a learner. Standardized tests limit freedom in studies which can still be manifested while changing the teaching approach to match the needs of the Common Core which include research, analytical skills and aligning career expectations (Read the Standards, n.d.)
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Teachers experience pressure to prove their effectiveness. This is because the primary indicator by which most teachers are judged is based on the performance of students on the standardized achievement tests. In recent years, is a school that has higher standardized tests scores people conclude the school has competent staff. On the other hand, if a school performs poorly in the standardized tests, teachers of that school are seen as poor and ineffective (Morris, 2011) . As a school principal, I do not think standardized testing is an effective tool of measuring educational quality as many factors are involved in individual performance, thereby making such evaluation criteria prone to error.
Students’ academic performance should be analyzed throughout the year as opposed to standardized tests as the tests may not provide an accurate picture of the ability of students. When a student sits for any test, it gives a view of their ability on a given say, and their score may not reflect their full yearly progress, or the ability to understand the ideas being tested. A student may perform poorly during a test because of being stressed, sick, or tired on a particular day even though they would understand and know the tested concepts. Individual students can also show chronic test anxiety, and thereby will not perform well under stressful conditions, regardless of their knowledge of the content.
Standardized testing is not recommendable to measure performance as teachers may resort to only teach to the test. This is a common criticism of standardized testing as teachers are coerced to solely focus on content that is only related to the test, thereby missing out on a lot of other skills that go beyond the test (Shiel, Kellaghan & Moran, 2010) . Such styles of teaching may limit creativity and classroom excitement and leave students uninspired without specific soft skills that are vital in the classroom. Teachers are also denied the chance to explore their creativity outside the school curriculum by teaching ideas or imparting knowledge to students that can otherwise be impactful to not just education but also their lives. Also, this will be a denial of rights to both the student and teachers as outlined in the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child and Human Rights which require an emphasis on the school as a natural learning space both in theory and practice.
As a school principal, I do not recommend standardized tests as the tests narrow a school curriculum. For instance, a national study conducted in 2007 by the Center on Education Policy outlined that since 2011, the time spent on arts and sciences had reduced by 44% thereby amounting to 145 minutes per week so that emphasis can be put on math and reading. Also, a survey conducted in 2007 on social studies and art teachers exhibited that 75% of them teaching current events less often because of standardized tests (Supovitz, 2009) . This limits teachers as they have to use different teaching approaches to meet what is required by the Common Core.
Standardized tests impact negatively on student’s confidence since their score on the standardized test solely judges his or her ability. There are various cases in which a student has displayed a clear understanding of the concept of a particular subject through many assessments, but are not skilled in taking multiple choice tests (Shiel, Kellaghan & Moran, 2010) . Consequently, it can be challenging on a student if he or she feels they did not perform to their expectations. In worst cases, instead of analyzing the whole learning picture through reviewing all assessment data with their teachers, students might determine their success on the basis of their score on the standardized test that is taken once annually.
Conclusion
Without a doubt, standardized testing is a complicated issue because schools need to do internal and external assessments to evaluate student performance. Tests are vital when used data to assist schools in enhancing the quality of teaching and learning. However, tests become harmful when they are used to judge the natural ability of students, and when teachers are put under pressure to teach the tests, which might affect the teaching curriculum. This is a violation of both the rights of teachers and students. Schools should analyze standardized tests as data points that can offer more perspective on student learning and not as an avenue to judge students and teachers. It is therefore important that schools allow academic freedom while changing their teaching methods to meet the expectations of the Common Core.
References
Morris, A. (2011). Student standardised testing.
Read the Standards. Common Core State Standards Initiative. Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/read-the-standards/
Shiel, G., Kellaghan, T., & Moran, G. (2010). Standardised testing in lower secondary education. National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) .
Supovitz, J. (2009). Can high stakes testing leverage educational improvement? Prospects from the last decade of testing and accountability reform. Journal of Educational Change , 10 (2-3), 211-227.
Trilling, B., & Fadel, C. (2009). 21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in Our Times . John Wiley & Sons.
