Disadvantages of Standardized TestsThe distribution of standardized tests in American classrooms has been involved since the late 1800s. A standardized test is "any form of a test that requires all candidates to answer the same questions, or a selection of questions from a common question bank, in the same way, and which is scored in a "standard" or consistent way. which allows the relative performance of individual students or groups of students to be compared” (Standardized Test). Standardized test scores are then used to determine students' academic performance as well as teachers' ability to teach them. However, there is a large margin of error that comes with mass testing of students. Standardized testing suppresses creativity within the classroom, places extreme stress on students and teachers, and costs enormous amounts of money with little return. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay « According to the late education researcher Gerald W. Bracey, PhD, qualities that standardized tests cannot measure include “the creativity, critical thinking, resilience, motivation, perseverance, curiosity, endurance, reliability, enthusiasm, empathy, self-awareness, self-discipline, leadership, civic-mindedness, courage, compassion, resourcefulness, sense of beauty, sense of wonder, honesty, integrity'” (Standardized). All of these aspects are crucial in student development, both in the classroom and in life, and are largely overlooked when educators begin to teach students how to be candidates rather than independent thinkers. Today, there is little time left in core classes for creative thinking due to the emphasis on analyzing and interpreting informational texts and technical writing. The emphasis on these teaching practices is based on the idea that children most need exposure to real-world reading and writing in the workplace (Payne). The idea is that when students enter the world of work, reading Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet will not benefit them in competing for a job. Langston Hughes' poems will not help a young adult read and write important reports. However, students who thrive in poetry, drama, classic literature, and works of fiction are starved when taught to analyze test questions. Kyung-Hee Kim of William & Mary recently completed a study titled “Crisis of Creativity in America” (Zagursky). “While many schools focus on standardization and testing, students who do not achieve the highest grades can still be extremely creative. If we neglect creative students in school because of the structure and movement of testing (creative students can't breathe, they are stifled in school), then they become underachievers," said Kim, who also studies school dropouts, added that she has found that creative people can either be overachievers, if their needs are met in class and at home, or underachievers. creative students, the chances of dropping out increase by 52 percent if they are in the wrong school environment” (Zagursky). Immense pressure is placed on students to perform to the best of their abilities on tests. standardized Because the effectiveness of teachers is largely based on their results.students, educators often start in September by reminding their boys and girls of the importance of doing well on tests. During their standardized testing training, teachers meet regularly and review practice test data looking for evidence of the standards in which students appear weak. They then reteach these standards, put the same missed questions back in front of the class, and comb through these questions to uncover misconceptions about the highly missed questions. Teachers hold faculty meetings looking for effective tips to teach students how to increase their chances of answering questions correctly. Teachers lose sleep, wake up after dreaming about their students not showing up for tests, or fall asleep in the middle of their test blocks. Parents are encouraged during testing to make sure their children get enough sleep and eat well-balanced breakfasts to improve scores. Test packets and exercises are sent home for families to use for review (Payne). When kids are asked what they like least about school, the answer is often exam preparation and testing in general. The pressure on all stakeholders for standardized testing is enormous, not to mention very costly. “In a recent report released November 29 by the Washington-based Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution... Standardized testing schemes cost about $1.7 billion per year in total” (Ujifusa). In 2011, Texas taxpayers paid approximately $93 million for students to get tested (Martinez). One would think that these expensive educational expenses would be managed smoothly and efficiently to maximize efficiency in the classroom, with little margin for error. However, it is rather the latter case. Standardized testing companies are “known for making costly and time-consuming scoring errors” (Standardized). “In January, New York City officials spotted a problem with English exams administered to 65,000 seventh graders. On five questions, the letters marking the answers in the test booklet did not match those on the answer sheet. For example, the test booklets gave F, G, H, or J as possible answers, while the answer sheets gave A, B, C, and D as options” (Errors). Another case occurred in Connecticut: “its contractor, Harcourt, had botched the analysis of student responses. The problem, Harcourt said, would delay the reporting of results by two to four weeks. This could cause Connecticut to miss NCLB's deadline for reporting results by September 1. State Education Secretary Betty Sternberg said it could cause the state to lose up to $1 million in federal funds. According to her, this would constitute a breach of contract. In February, Harcourt misreported the results of some 350 students, leading to an $80,000 fine from the state” (Errors). This money lost due to testing company errors could be used in many other useful ways. “Many students are deprived of classroom learning materials because schools simply do not have the funds to support them. Just like technology. Technology in our society is growing at an exponential rate and teachers should be able to integrate some of it into our classrooms. However, there are thousands of classrooms in America that still use the same blackboard and the same.