More testing? Still?

In class this week, we talked about how competitive Americans are. We want to be the best in everything, including education, so we needed a way to measure our knowledge. Testing has boomed in the last couple decades with numerous tests coming out each year. Since we were talking about how many tests children take and how teachers teach to the test instead of true comprehension, I decided to do my blogpost about testing. After searching for less than five minutes on google, I came across this article about a new test released by College Board (the makers of the SAT). Essentially, this test would be administered to eighth graders as a pre-PSAT so that students would get a prediction on how they would perform on the PSAT in two years and then the SAT in three to four years.

There has been backlash about this test because it seems to be a test with no substance, and that there is no need for this test. However, College Board asserts "ReadiStep fills a void." Yet, the critics say that this test is only created to make money for the company. There is no need for more testing because the amount of class time spent in standardized tests is already astronomical.

I thought that it was interesting reading this article after class this week. I don't really think that there is a need for more testing, especially a pre test for the PSAT, which is a pretest for the SAT. Students need more time in the classroom and learning, not spending time on being assessed of their acquired knowledge. College Board is looking to make money; they want to boost profits by suggesting there is a need for this test. It is purely monetarily motivated and unnecessary, I say we keep our children out of excessive testing and in the classroom where they need to be.

http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Maker_SAT_Aims_New/