standardized testing for schools...

[alphatarget1]

my sister goes to a school in california and it's pathetic how much time the school wastes on some standardized tests. my point is that states should use the same book and follow the same curriculum and given the same test statewide for a certain class. ok let me elaborate:

for instance, algebra. the state drafts up the curriculum at which a student has to meet a certain skill level or they have to repeat it again, plain and simple. that saves so much money and the test scores can be used for other purposes as well.

 

[agnitrate]

For the essay section of EVERY standardized test I have taken past elementary school, I have written about how standardzied are bullcrap. It's pretty fun to write, actually. That's only if I get a choice on what to write about, of course.

Standardized tests are a waste of time for the smart people for whom they are a nuisance. Everybody else on the other hand.....

-silver

 

[Sahakiel]

Standardized tests do little beyond illustrating the successive increases of stupidity for each generation.

If one wants to improve education, start at the home, where too many parents are blaming society for not doing their job for them or just not caring in the first place.

 

[Hubris]

We used to trust the teachers to be able to tell whether kids knew enough to pass the subject. Unfortunately that isn't always the case anymore; teachers are way more overworked, having to deal with a lot more crap from students, plus if parents bitch and moan enough about a bad grade, they can have it overturned (not standard practice, but it happens enough to be fvcking terrifying). Though, with standardized tests, teacher STILL get blamed if students don't do well, so in the interest of self-preservation, some of them just teach what's going to be on the exam so their students will score well.

All in all, it's a huge clusterfvck and it's going to lead to something very bad in the not so distant future.

 

[HokieESM]

Another massive problem (that sort of fits in with Hubris' explanation) is that they FREQUENTLY base the "success" of a teacher on the scores of his/her students. Which initially sounds ok... but when you think about how greatly the quality of student can vary (because you can't work miracles), this isn't exactly fair. So you end up with teachers that teach towards the test--basically, teachers saying "this is how you do this type of problem", rather than teaching their students to THINK and develop problem solving skills.


That said, standardized testing is probably a necessary evil--its the only way to develop a defacto "standard" of knowledge in a specific area. Its like the SAT--the number doesn't mean a whole lot, intrinsically, but you can definitely compare the SAT scores of two individuals, where their grades may be completely biased one way or the other.

 

Originally posted by: HokieESM
Another massive problem (that sort of fits in with Hubris' explanation) is that they FREQUENTLY base the "success" of a teacher on the scores of his/her students. Which initially sounds ok... but when you think about how greatly the quality of student can vary (because you can't work miracles), this isn't exactly fair. So you end up with teachers that teach towards the test--basically, teachers saying "this is how you do this type of problem", rather than teaching their students to THINK and develop problem solving skills.

I agree completely. My sophmore year in HS I got a C in math. I am ususally an A student, so the C hurt, but it was fair. I learned so much in that year about finding different ways to solve problems that it helps me do math problems, chem problems, and look at things from a different perspective even to this day. Few teachers do that anymore, and so many students miss out on true education. It's not the grade that matters, it's what you get out of it.

 

[GermyBoy]

They measure a certain level of competency of the student to see if they're a freaking retard, etc.

 

[Anubis]

actually they are compleatly worthless. we had them in NY also. a blink monkey with no limbs could pass them. i recall that most finals were multipial choice. could just guess and pass on thoes. my physics final was 100 Q's. we rounded gravity to 10m/s/s i finishes in 30 min and was forced to stau for 2 hours for some odd reason.

i actually think i know less because i had to follow thoes guidelines.