The SAT. The PSAT. The ACT. These are just a few standardized test that many students will need to take in high school. But students have been taking standardized tests long before they get to these in the later education. The average student in the United States takes one hundred and twelve mandated standardized tests between their pre- kindergarten classes and their senior year of high school, according to a study done by the Council of Great City Schools. In almost all of the countries that outperform the United States on international exams, their students are only tested three times between their first and last years of schooling. So the question is, are standardized test actually improving the education system in the United States? If not, why are children spending hours preparing for and taking meaningless exams when they could actually be learning new material? The education system in America needs to decrease the emphasis placed on standardized testing and increase the attention placed on classroom learning.
Applying statistics like that to American society can be misleading. Those countries have different structural bases, societal norms, and engrained learned patterns. If the U.S. abruptly changed its standardized testing agenda, I feel as though it would bring more negatives than positive. Perhaps in the long run, this is feasible and successful.