Should Standardization Tests be Used to Assess Student Ability?

Abstract

Standardization testing, a form of testing that have relatively standard procedure, are being implemented worldwide nowadays to measure student’s ability and making academic decisions. Despite its popularity, it remains controversial whether standardization testing is the most appropriate method to assess student. Lots of criticism had been made since the last century, while other researchers think standardization serves a value and there is no replacement for it yet. This paper aims to summarize and evaluate the effect of this implementation on students themselves and the external environment by incorporating opinions proposed by current research so far. Weighting up the of potential merits and drawbacks of using this method of assessment, standardization is still irreplicable while having many negative influences such as supressing creativity and leading to study for the test. Fortunately, many examination boards are taking these influences into account and starting to offer students the freedom to study for their own interests. However, research around this topic is still limited and unspecific. More detailed studies should be conducted to investigate a particular subject and question type; the relationship between students’ age group and types standardization testing.