
Standardized testing is a very important issue that educators, parents, and student's must be informed about because they are the ones at risk. I am interested in this research question because I am a future educator who does not believe students should be tested in the same or standardized way. We must educate children in the best possible manor so the future of our nation is better than it is today. Student's are in school for at least 16 to 18 years of their lives, so its necessary for them to learn skills that they will need for the rest of their lives. I grew up with the value of education. I learned at a young age that I had to do well in school to succeed in life. Therefore, when I was graded below average on the NJASK, a New Jersey standardized test that tested elementary to middle school children, I thought I had failed at school. In turn, this made me do worse in class because I thought I was below average then everyone else. I am qualified to write about this because I am an early childhood education major who has researched this topic intensively. I believe standardized testing is culturally biased and causes an abundance of stress on children. 

To better understand standardized testing, we must take a closer look at one of the Acts that changed American education. In No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Bush starts off by discussing how education affects everyone in our nation; therefore, its important to educate all of our youth so many other successes will follow throughout our country. He backs up his thoughts with the percentage of children who are getting left behind. He believes there's a need of federal involvement in the educational system. The four pillars of NCLB are stronger accountability for results, more freedom for states and communities, proven education methods, and more choices for parents. President Bush would be considered credible because he is a man of power being the president of the United States. However, Bush has never worked in a school, so he is not credible on the topic of educating children. On the other hand, people can argue that he worked closely with educators to construct this bill. His bias would be that he wants federal involvement in education because he is a politician and wants to make laws revolving the education of children. He also wanted to be known as the "education president." 

Many Children Left Behind is a collection of essays from many educators' including Deborah Meier and George Woods. Wood's, who's worked in the education field for over 30 years, criticizes No Child Left Behind due to the rise of High-stakes testing, also known as standardized testing. These tests are used to check the performance of schools, teachers, and students. However, there is no evidence that these tests are beneficial to student's development. Therefore, this book is an opposing viewpoint of NCLB. Woods has written a few books about education and once was a classroom teacher, college professor, and school principal; therefore, he is credible on the topic. This book is a collection of essays, therefore there are many authors. Another author is Meir, who is considered credible because she is one of the most acclaimed leaders of the school reform movement. As an education major, I have read and agreed with many of her works, which operates on improving the educational system by building or improving small schools around the nation. She also disagrees with federal involvement in the education system. 

In "Standardized Testing and Its Victims," Kohn, writes about how assessments have increased in schools at an enormous rate. Kohn has written over fifteen books on education and parenting and lectures at educational conferences. In this article, he goes into some of the facts associated with standardized testing. All the facts have in common that standardized testing is bad. He states that children in our nation are getting tested to an outrageous extent and these tests are used as important decisions. In addition, some schools are eliminating programs, such as recess so they have more time to study for these tests. In turn, many educators are leaving or not wanting to enter the field due to testing. Moreover, children from low income families are getting left behind due to less resources and biased tests. Kohn is biased against standardized test. He uses pathos, metaphors, and facts to draw the reader in and to demonstrate his view that assessments are not the right path for our nation. 

The research question is arguable because "to what extent" questions leaves room for more information and the other side of the debate. In addition, everyone is familiar and is affected by standardized testing so the audience is broad. Educators are getting fired or getting pushed out of schools if their students are not passing these assessments. Schools are getting defunded or even closing if they do not have passing scores. Parents have to deal with their children getting stressed by these assessments. Children are the most affected or at stake by standardized tests because they are the ones directly suffering. NCLB is an informational article so it displays current facts and what the law hopes to accomplish. Woods and Kohn both agree that standardized testing children is wrong. I think I might need to make my research question more specific, which I will do in my argumentative essay. In my broader essay, I will explore standardized testing as it relates to high-stakes and the people getting left behind. Specifically, the people getting left behind are people of color, people with disabilities, and people living in poverty. My call to action will be for parents to opt their children out of standardized testing and for teachers and school administrators to fight back against these laws. 
