Explanation Sentences

93% of studies on student testing found a positive effect on student achievement.

• This means that these tests really do help students learn more in school.

• In other words, students take a lot of tests.

• That means that 93% of students did well on the test.

• That's why students should take standardized tests.

Standardized tests are fair because everyone has to take the same test.

• This shows that standardized tests are fair.

• In other words, schools know these tests are good for students because no students get an unfair advantage.

• This means some other tests are unfair to students, like ones in other languages or ones that are really long and difficult to take for students with shorter attention spans..

• I believe that standardized tests are good for students.

China has a long tradition of standardized testing and they score better than all other countries in math, science, and reading.

• If it works for China, it should work for the United States, as well.

• In other words, math, science, and reading are important.

• This means that students in China score better than other countries in math, science, and reading.

• By using a lot of standardized testing, China is helping their students receive the best education in the world.

Standardized tests focus on important skills that all students need.

• This shows that tests focus on important skills.

• In other words, there are some skills that all students need.

• This means that students benefit from concentrating on just a few skills that will be really useful, instead of trying to learn many, many different things.

• I believe that all students benefit from taking standardized tests, because these tests help students to concentrate on the things that all students need.

Most parents approve of standardized tests.

• This shows that these tests help students so much that even their parents agree that they should take them.

• In other words, parents like these tests.

• Parents should have their kids take standardized tests to that they will do better in school.

• A center for public affairs did a poll that found 75% of parents say that standardized tests "are a solid measure of their children's abilities".

Standardized testing has not improved student achievement.

• After the United States started using nation-wide standardized tests, American students began to do worse in school that students in other countries.

• If these tests don't help students, they shouldn't take them.

• This means that the tests aren't helping students because their grades haven't changed for the better.

• For all of these reasons, students shouldn't take standardized tests.

Standardized tests can't be trusted to give real grades.

• This means that if these tests can't provide teachers, parents, and students with meaningful grades, then they are not helping the students.

• In other words, tests like this don't give grades that are real.

• This shows that standardized tests can't be trusted.

• A study done at the Brookings Institute found that 50-80% of test improvements were only temporary.

Standardized tests are unfair to students who speak other languages than English.

• This means that some tests are unfair to students who speak other languages than English.

• In other words, students who speak languages like Spanish and Chinese at home are not being helped by taking this test and are being mistreated instead.

• It's not just English language learners. It's students with special needs, too!

• Mr. Keysor says, "Some students can avoid taking the English test the first year they are in school."

Standardized tests only test things that are easy to grade, not things that are difficult to grade, even if they are really important.

• This means that the tests only grade easy things, not difficult things.

• In other words, these tests can't help students because they don't test a huge part of what students need to do well in school.

• That's why I think standardized tests are bad.

• For all these reasons, no one should take tests.

It takes a lot of time to prepare students to take the test and that time could be spent actually learning new things.

• That's why students aren't learning.

• In other words, kids don't learn new things.

• There are even some tests that take weeks to prepare for and that translates to hundreds of hours every school year that students aren't learning new things.

• By wasting a huge amount of time on test prep, students are missing out on learning and that hurts their education.