Beyond Exit Exams: The Effects of Standardized Tests on Student Academic Success

Abstract

There is much debate over the best way to measure academic achievement of students in public schools. One of the primary methods being used is administering state-wide exams each year to measure progress. This process became federally mandated following the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The purpose of this paper is to discern the effects of standardized testing by asking the question: Is there a relationship between the number of state-wide standardized tests and student academic success at the state level? I rely upon the independent variables of state SAT scores and state graduation rates for the academic years of 2011 and 2012 along with the dependent variable of the total number of tests taken by a student during their years of public schooling. I collect the number of tests variable by back-tracking the grade level in which a graduate of the class 2011 or 2012 would have been in during each academic year to reach the total number of tests taken. The results show that an increase in testing has a negative relationship with graduation rates and a negative and significant relationship with SAT scores per state. Based upon these measurements, the conclusion is that there are no positive effects of standardized testing being seen by the students.