Standardized test facts for kids

A standardized test is a test that is done and scored in a consistent, or "standard", manner. Standardized tests are designed so that everything about them are standard. They are administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner.

Often they are used as a test to join an institution or gain a license of some sort. The grading system is the same no matter where they are taken. They can be used for university entry, like the SAT and ACT in the United States or the Gaokao in the People's Republic of China (PRC). They can be used a requirement to get a job, like the LSAT for lawyers.

In the United States the term is often used for the multiple-choice questions used in the educational system. They are thought by some to be a poor way to measure educational progress. They are, however, convenient and cheap. Marking does not require expertise in the subject-matter.

Many psychological tests are designed to be standardized. They are designed to be "an objective and standardized measure of a sample of behavior".

The first known standardized test was in Imperial China, when Empress Wu allowed anyone who passed the test to be a government official based on their merit rather than birthright, meaning that people work to become leaders rather than being born into leadership. However, we do not know the details of this system.

Images for kids

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  Young adults in Poland sit for their Matura exams. The Matura is standardized so that universities can easily compare results from students across the entire country.

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  Two men take an authentic, non-written, criterion-referenced standardized test. If they perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the mannequin with the correct speed and pressure, they will pass this exam.

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  British soldiers took standardized tests during the Second World War. This new recruit is sorting mechanical parts to test his understanding of machinery. His uniform shows no name, rank, or other sign that might bias the scoring of his work.

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  Scoring form for driving tests in the UK. Every person who wants a driver's license takes the same test and gets scored in the same way.

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  Some standardized testing uses multiple-choice tests, which are relatively inexpensive to score, but any form of assessment can be used.

See also

In Spanish: Test estandarizado para niños