I feel as though standardized testing is becoming more of a concerning issue. After reading and listening to the segment on why many New York State officials feel that children should start to be assessed at a lower age level, I am more against the idea. It is evident that many elite feel that students should be assessed in order to know what the students are learning and gaining from their education. Though standardized test are thought to become a "center piece" of education, it is stated that the tests in general are not looking to see what the teachers have taught or have not taught.
I for one am against this idea especially at such a young age. Children between the ages of 5-7 years old are just learning how to transform into the school routine and adjust. I don't think that it is fair as educators to try and get the students in the habit of always being tested. I don't understand what happened to simply teaching students, and allowing them to work and grow at their own pace. I don't always feel that it is okay to force children to move at the same rate as other children because the truth is simply each child learns and comprehends each method and concept differently. It is not fair to the children to put the pressure of testing on consecutively and at such a young age.
I think that trying to assess students in the lower grade level, such as kindergarten is absurd. Kindergarten is when children learn how to develop relationships with one another and with themselves. Student's learn independence and creativity, the basics of math and reading. However, it is now evident that younger children are going to be forced to focus more on the rights and wrongs, and the do's and don't of learning with the phrase "standardized testing" laying in the back of their minds throughout their education.
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I agree with Amanda, standardized testing at the kindergarten level is ridiculous. Not only does it teach children the idea of constantly being tested to see if their "good enough" but it also serves as a vehicle for slower learners to be put on the back burner earlier in their educations.
In my grade school years I saw so many of my classmates get left behind in the classroom by smarter students and teachers alike, simply because of their test scores. As soon as their is a number next to a child's name, that child will constantly wither be looking down upon lower-scoring students, or striving to be on top with all the other "smarter kids."
My sister is three years older than me, and I always heard her talking about the standardized tests she had to take in her grade. Those test terrified me, and I didn't even start taking them until about 5th grade. Imagine how traumatic they could be for a kindergarten student?
Not only are these test damaging to students, but they could also potentially be linked to teachers gaining tenure and/or bonuses. This is horrible as more and more teachers would strictly teach to pass the test, not to enrich the minds of their students.
Kindergarten through third grade is a time for learning, not for testing. Children not only learn the basics of all aspects of education, but they learn their first people skills, such as communication and reasoning. Without these basic skills, they can go nowhere in life. Standardized testing of these students will hinder their learning of these simple concepts, thus rendering them hopeless to gain an education in the future.
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