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Monash University Foundation
Year
MUF0011 ENGLISH UNIT 1 SAMPLE
Reading and noting time: 15 minutes | Writing time: 90 minutes
ESSAY QUESTION & READING MATERIALS BOOKLET
Structure of Examination
Section Section requirement(s) Number of marks
A Planning 5
B Argumentative Essay 25
Total 30
Instructions
This booklet contains the essay question and all of your reading materials.
You may highlight and annotate in this booklet. However, complete your planning and final
essay in the
Answer Booklet.
Materials allowed:
Approved English-to-English dictionaries are permitted during the 15 minute reading and
noting time and during the 90 minute writing time.
ESSAY QUESTION
‘Are there benefits of standardised testing in education?’
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READING MATERIALS
WORDS THAT ARE UNDERLINED IN THE TEXTS APPEAR IN THE GLOSSARY BELOW EACH TEXT
Text 1
Time and place for standardised testing.
Colleen Ricci (2014)
What is standardised testing?
Examinations in which all students take the same test under equal conditions, and where
results are scored and interpreted in the same way, are known as standardised tests. They
take a variety of forms, including multiple-choice, true/false, short-answer or essay questions
and are often time limited.
Although teachers still play a role in the evaluation of these tests, particularly with essay
questions, most are now scored by computer, which is considered more accurate and cost-
effective.
The results of standardised tests have many potential uses; for example, checking student
progress, evaluating schools and teachers, or providing statistics that signal where a country
is heading in educational terms. Some standardised tests are considered of great importance
because the results determine future outcomes; for example, a scholarship, a licence to
practise a profession, or admission to university. Less important tests may be used to
measure academic achievement or identify learning difficulties, but typically carry no
significant consequences for the student.
Standardised testing continues to be used in many countries, including China, England and
Germany, providing opportunities to compare educational standards on a national scale. For
example, in the US standardised tests such as the ACT (American College Testing) and the SAT
(Scholastic Assessment Test) are commonly used to determine entry to higher education.
According to supporters, standardised testing serves a variety of purposes that include
evaluating student progress, identifying strengths and weaknesses and detecting learning
problems. Because all students take the same tests, many consider them to be a fair and
objective way to provide ''consistent'' results from which reliable comparisons may be drawn.
Information collected from national standardised testing is considered useful in keeping public
schools accountable to the taxpayers who fund them, in allowing comparisons between
schools to be made, and in identifying ways that schools may be improved. Supporters of
standardised testing claim that most students, parents and teachers approve of the method,
believing it to be the fairest way to evaluate students at relatively low cost. They argue that
most objections to standardised testing come not from the tests themselves, but from how
the data is used.
Critics say ''one-size-fits-all'' testing measures only a fraction of what makes education
meaningful and that focusing on tests ''narrows the curriculum''. They argue that too much
time is spent on monotonous test preparation at the expense of the broader curriculum or
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creative, engaging activities. Many say that standardised tests value rote learning over
deeper understanding; merely teach students how to pass tests without learning anything,
and in the case of testing for future outcomes, encourage cheating. They say children should
not be judged on the results of narrow tests that value certain competencies while ignoring
others.
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Others are concerned by the stress and anxiety many students feel about testing and argue
that we should find alternative evaluation methods. They cite countries such as Finland, a
nation that consistently rates highly in the Program for International Student Assessment
(PISA) despite no official standardised testing. On the other hand, China, with its long tradition
of standardised testing, and high PISA ranking.
Interestingly, however, China has recently made some educational reforms that include a
reduced emphasis on standardised testing.
Glossary
Interpreted To explain the meaning of something.
Accountable Responsible for the effects of your actions and willing to explain or be
criticized for them.
One-size-fits-all Suitable for every situation, often with the result that it is not successful.
Monotonous Boring because of always being the same.
Rote learning Learning or memorization by repetition, often without an understanding of
the reasoning or relationships involved in the material that is learned.
Competencies To have a certain set of skills
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Text 2
Examining Standardised Testing.
Derrick Meador (2017).
Like many issues in public education, standardised testing can be a controversial topic among
parents and teachers. Many people say standardised testing provides an accurate
measurement of student performance and teacher effectiveness. Others say such a one-size-
fits-all approach to assessing academic achievement can be inflexible or even biased.
Supporters of standardised testing say that it is the best means of comparing data from a
diverse population, allowing educators to digest large amounts of information quickly.
Probably the greatest benefit of standardised testing is that educators and schools are
responsible for teaching students what they are required to know for these standardized
tests. This is mostly because these scores become public record, and teachers and
schools that don’t perform well can come under intense review. This scrutiny can lead to
the loss of jobs. In some cases, a school can be closed.
Standardised testing is accompanied by a set of established standards or an instructional
framework to guide classroom learning and test preparation. This approach creates standards
to measure student progress over time.
Standardised tests are often scored by computers or by people who do not directly know the
student to remove the chance that bias would affect the scoring. Tests are also developed by
experts, and each question undergoes an intense process to ensure its validity — that it
properly assesses the content — and its reliability, which means that the question tests
consistently over time.
Opponents of standardised testing say educators have become too focused on scores and
preparing for these exams. Some of the most common arguments against testing are as
follows:
Some students may excel in the classroom yet not perform well on a standardised test
because they're unfamiliar with the format or develop test anxiety. Family problems, mental
and physical health issues, and language barriers can all affect a student's test score. But
standardised tests don't allow personal factors to be taken into consideration.
Standardised testing causes many teachers to teach to the tests, meaning they only
spend instructional time on material that will appear on the test. Opponents say this
practice lacks creativity and can limit a student’s overall learning potential.
Standardised testing only evaluates one-time performance instead of a student's progress
over time. Many would argue that teacher and student performance should be evaluated on
growth over the course of the year instead of one single test.
Teachers and students alike feel test stress. For educators, poor student performance may
result in a loss of funding and teachers being fired. For students, a bad test score may mean
missing out on admission to the college of their choice or even being held back.
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Glossary
Controversial Causing a lot of disagreement, because many people have strong opinions
about the subject being discussed.
Biased An opinion about whether a person, group or idea is good or bad that
influences how you deal it it/them.
Scrutiny Careful and thorough examination of someone or something.
Validity The state or quality of being valid, sound, just and/or well-founded.
END OF EXAMINATION
Are there benefits of standardized testing in education?’
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Education is indeed a crucial part of our life which aids us to build ourselves and impacts our life in
numerous ways. Exams and tests determine our progress in education. (Ricci, 2014) cites that
"standardized testing continues to be used in many countries such as China, Germany, and
England, providing opportunities to compare educational standards on a national scale".
Standardized tests have numerous benefits, it is better testing of student's ability as the same exam
is given by all students to create fairness and students are judged and compared with their peers
with their exam results for their own betterment in order to determine their progress in studies.
Standardized tests are better because they aid in recognizing the individual capabilities of students
based on their exam results and improve their lacking in specific study areas. Ricci (2014) clarified
that there are many types of standardized tests to identify students' progress in study areas such as
true/false, multiple-choice questions, broad and short questions, and many more, every student
needs to complete this on a limited. The results of these tests help students identify their
weaknesses in specific study areas and work on those lacking to prepare themselves for higher
education and be a better version of themselves. Moreover, Meador(2017) also stated that students,
parents, and teachers prefer this method over the other one as this method helps students to identify
their capabilities compare themselves and prepare themselves for comprehensive studies in
universities.
Standardized tests aid educational institutes in identifying the progress of their students. educational
institutes can compare the results of their students with other schools for the betterment of the
nation. Ricci (2014) asserts that standardized tests allow schools to check progress of students,
evaluate schools and teacher and provide statistical feedbacks in order to determine where a
country is proceeding in educational terms. This conveys that every school tries their best to prepare
their students for standardized tests, as they are being compared with other institutes, this improves
quality of education. In addition to this Meadow(2017) says, "Standardized testing is accompanied by
a set of established standards or an instructional framework to guide classroom learning and test
preparation. This means that before the tests students need to attend mock exam and teachers also
try their best to educate their students go through each study areas and make sure that every
student in class comprehended exam topics, because results of students reflect effort given by their
educator toward students.
However, many people argue that standardized tests do not have significant benefits towards
students' education. Ricci(2014) said that students need to spend large amount of monotonous time
for taking preparation for standardized tests regardless of doing other intriguing activities that may
promote their creativity. In addition to this Meadow(2017) also said that some students can perform
better in class but might not perform well on standardized tests because they might be unfamiliar
with exam pattern, or they might face anxiety problems. However, these claims are not true, there
was not enough analysis regarding these claims. Meadow(2017) clarified “all students take the same
tests; many consider them to be a fair and objective way". It convinces us that standardized tests
promote equality and fairness among students, personal problems of students are not considered in
these tests, which allows students to consistently work hard in order to get rid of their problems and
be the best version of themselves. Students must spend large amount of time studying because teen
years are the best time to acquire large amount of knowledge, if they study consistently in this time
then in the later period of life they can relax.
Positivite factors of standardized tests outweigh the negative factors. This test recognizes
educational abilities of individual student equally, to create fairness. It also allows students to identify
their lacks in specific study areas and work on those lacks to be the best version of themselves and
compare themselves with others at an international level to succeed in the long run.
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