Thursday, August 29, 2013
Testing: Why do we have to bother?
We hear a lot about the ACT and SAT on a regular basis, and this is because, for some reason, it's a topic that people like to discuss. Either they're going through the process themselves, they know someone who is, or like all of us, they already have completed this gruelling test. Our discussion about these tests were quite relevant to me because I remember that when my friends and I were preparing for them, it's as if they were all we talked about. It's ridiculous that school boards put so much importance on something that doesn't indicate your true intelligence: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/sats/test/what.html. This article as well as the College board in this article state that "the ACT does not measure innate ability." In reading this article, my thoughts throughout were: "If they don't measure true intelligence or how a particular person is going to do in college, then why do school boards and college boards require students to take these tests?" Instead of putting this much emphasis on something that clearly has no bearing on students' knowledge or academic abilities, schools should focus more on encouraging creativity (particularly the arts), which in a sense, has been stifled in order to prepare students for these standardized tests. I believe that if universities need something to determine which students they accept, the administration should focus on their grades all throughout high school, and then look at extracurriculars, etc. There are already many ways they can decide who to accept. Why do they feel required to add one more item to that list?
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Bryanna,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you in the crushing stress and emphasis that is placed on testing in schools. I feel that we are so lucky to have graduated before the gambit of "3rd grade guarantees" and other such intensive tests that come around at such an early age. It's important as a future teacher to remember how important creativity and discovery are. We will need to stick to our beliefs to bring about change in the future!
Thank you for sharing!
I have the same feelings regarding standardized testing. It is a shame that a lot of teachers feel they have to teach to the test in order to show administration, the district, and the government that they are doing their job. I understand that it is how teachers are rated by the test results, but the Letters to a Young Teacher book did a great job in discussing this topic. I found it ridiculous in the chapter that said teachers were required to take two hours in the morning and two more hours in the afternoon to teach for these standardized tests. That is practically half the day! It also said that sometimes outside trainers would come in and students would stay after school for several hours in the months before the tests. The book makes a good point when it said that specialized tests don't even help the teacher very much because they usually don't receive the results until June in which they don't even have those same students in their classrooms anymore to help them decide where their students need improvement. I whole heartedly agree that student acceptance for colleges and universities should 90% be based on community involvement and gpa. As a student who tried very hard in high school, I found it extremely frustrating when I did not perform well on the ACT, but a classmate of mine who was always late/did not show up to school and when he did he would sleep received a very high score. I do not find it fair that Universities base a lot of their scholarships on a single test result!
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