Throughout my high school years, one of the most daunting aspects has been standardized testing. Whether it be the ACT, SAT or MCA, standardized testing is present throughout many students’ time in school. In recent years, standardized testing has been labeled as a tool of the past and is not needed in students’ academic regimen. I believe that standardized testing helps us pinpoint student’s weaknesses and assess them on a scale that is quantifiable. For this reason, we still need standardized testing. 

One of the largest arguments against standardized testing is how it places students on a scale and compares them to each other. I agree that comparing kids at such a young age can be harmful to their confidence but the alternative to a quantifiable test is merely opinion. If you were to take the bubble sheets out of testing and replace them with an interview style test, it will open up to infinite problems with bias. One interviewer might think that a kid meets standards while another thinks they do not, thus creating the potential for more error. Because of this, I continue to believe the current style of testing is superior to other options.

Another large criticism of standardized testing is how much pressure it puts on students to get high grades. This criticism is very selective, as we already put a lot of pressure on students in other aspects of their academics whether it be sports, extracurriculars or grade point averages. The amount of pressure that students feel to perform to look good for colleges can’t be solely pinned on standardized testing and should be evaluated on all levels if it were to change.

Standardized testing has been a useful resource in our education system for a long time, and to dismantle or even remove it from academics would make it harder for our education system to function. The solution of removing it from academics will bring upon a student body that is more lazy, less driven and used to getting their academic shortfalls excused by unequal teacher review.