Introduction+of+Standardized+Testing


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Benchmark Name:** The introduction of Standardized Testing

The concept of standardized testing was first exercised by the Chinese during the Han Dynasty. This dynasty wanted the country to be ruled by men who possessed ability and virtue. To decided whether or not men were able and had virtue, they were given Imperial Examinations which covered the Six Arts. The Six Arts were music, archery, horsemanship, writing, arithmetic and knowledge of local traditions. As time progressed, military skill, civil law, finance and local agriculture became subjects that were also added to this test. In 1901, SATS began to be used as a college admissions test. This was one of the earliest U.S. uses of standardized testing. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, (which was enacted in 1965 and authorized in 1970), made standardized testing mandatory in American schools. Based on a school's results, they received funds for professional development,instructional materials, resources to support educational programs, and parental involvement promotion. The recent act of No Child Left Behind Act, continues to emphasize the importance of standardized testing in schools. The No Child Left Behind Act issues standardized testing to hold public schools responsible for making sure that it's students have successfully obtained the knowledge necessary to progress in the educational system.
 * Basic Description:**

There have been numerous manifestations that resulted from the introduction of standardized testing. One key manifestation was the development of the No Child Left Behind Act. The No Child Left Behind Act was founded in 2001. It holds elementary and secondary schools up to high academic standards and it holds these schools accountable for achieving the standards that the government set for them. If a school is capable of making these expected achievements (via standardized testing), then it will receive a sufficient amount of funds for it's academic programs. The higher the success rate that a school has, the higher the amount of funds that it receives. Under the No Child Left Behind Act all schools must employ only "qualified" teachers. Under this act, it is also mandatory that third to eighth grade students must be tested annually in math and reading.This test also must be repeated once during the student's high school education.
 * Key Manifestations:**

Standardized testing is a benchmark because it changed the way that the progress of students is measured. Standardized tests allow academic progress to be measured on a much larger scale and in a more extensive range. Standardized testing is also a benchmark because it opened the doors to acts such as the No Child Left Behind Act, which deeply effects the way the American academic system is ran. The test results under this act influence the funding that a school receives and so in turn also effects the quality of education that will be available at that school. Standardized testing is also a benchmark because it decreases college drop out rates. Using standardized testing as criteria for college admissions acts as a screening process. There are specialized standardized tests for law schools and medical schools, which before the introduction of these standardized tests, saw a massive amount of dropouts because the capabilities and readiness of students were not measured or assessed. Now with the use of standardized testing, only students who are deemed capable are admitted to many of these schools and therefore there is a significant decrease in incidents of students dropping out.
 * Why/How a Benchmark:**

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standardized_testing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_examination http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAT#1901_test http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_child_left_behind
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