The Kansas Silent reading test was the first multiple choice exam, given in 95 to secondary students, so educators could examine their ability to read and comprehend. The test had a set amount of time, testing the speed and accuracy of the students understanding. When Frederick J Kelly first invented standardized tests, after some evaluation he thought the conditions, students were put under to take these standardized tests were too harsh. They would be required to read the questions themselves and choose from a set of answers for a timed test. All students are different, and they show their capability to learn and retain information in many different ways. Standardized tests are simply too standard for them to be an accurate representation of millions of students with different learning styles. He came to the conclusion that standardized testing was too crude to use [in classrooms] and should be abandoned (Cohen). In fact, in a survey conducted by the national educators association, over seventy percent of over fifteen hundred teachers said state assessments are not developmentally appropriate for their students. Eighty-one percent of teachers think that their states one size fits all style tests are too extensive and do not accurately represent what their students have learned over the school year (Cohen). This says more than enough about standardized testing in general. It proves that so many people are against the use of it, and do not think it is in anyways helpful for
students in the long run. Putting students through standardized testing is ineffective and unnecessary.
Because standardized tests do not really have much variety, teachers often become accustomed to the test. Over their years of teaching, they may end up teaching the test. When students are taught the test, it becomes more of a memorization of facts than it is the application of knowledge. This is not the most effective way of learning for all students. Some students may be good with memorizing important things, then applying the concept to whatever it is they are being tested on. However, other students may have to understand the concept in the first place in order to really be able to apply it to the test. When comparing the number of standardized tests taken from the equivalent of kinder to twelfth grade worldwide, its proven that the number of standardized tests a student takes before college does not determine how smart they are (Do Standardized Tests). Between Pre-k and twelfth grade, students take an average of 2 standardized tests, taking over 25.3 hours over the whole school year. In Finland, students were tested over fifty percent less than students in the US, but their math and science proficiency were significantly higher, as well as their reading comprehension. This goes to show that no matter how many standardized tests students take over the course of their k-2 education standardized testing never really helps, or hurts when it comes to overall performance.