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Reflect in your journal on the advantages and disadvantages of standardized testing.

One advantage to standardized testing is that it is easily measured. You can quickly run bubble sheets through a scanner and now most tests can be completed online. The results can be determined quickly. With quick feedback, teachers can make necessary adjustments in instruction and lesson planning.
The next advantage of standardized testing is that it keeps expectations high. Teachers who might think that students wont understand or arent capable of learning are forced to teach material that will be on the test to all their students. It requires students to pass a minimal level ensuring that they know enough to become successful.
One disadvantage to standardized testing is that it does not require higher level thinking. It is really only able to assess factual knowledge. What about a student's procedural knowledge? Isn't that important too? It doesnt allow students to give justification for their answers. It is too set in stone.
The next disadvantage to standardized testing is that it is biased. It requires background knowledge that some students may not have. They are also written in English and for some students, English is a second language, making standard tests very difficult. Sometimes tests have more than one right answer and students are just expected to pick the best one. Best in whose eyes?
Another disadvantage to standardized testing is that it is difficult to make accomodations for and it is not authentic. Standardized tests do not engage students, so sometimes students will get answers incorrect because of boredom not because they dont know the answers. Students display what they have learned in many different ways and it is not fair to assess them in a singular way. Students are individuals, who need individualized tests.