http://youtu.be/HqOub-heGQc
In this video Matt Damon speaks on behalf of teachers and standardized testing.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Katie Couric's view on Standardized Tests
http://youtu.be/gKFUoxGLiiQ
In this video Katie Couric describes her point-of-view on standardized testing.
In this video Katie Couric describes her point-of-view on standardized testing.
Are Standardized Tests Really Helping Your Child?
Tests are stressful. Being a student myself, I know just how much one test can affect your mood, especially a test like the ACT where so much of how you do reflects what college you can attend or how much money you’ll receive. I, like most students, dread these tests. We cram our heads full of information the night before, knowing that we will never use it again, for the sole purpose of getting a good grade. The anxiety it puts on us isn’t necessary and are an inaccurate depiction of what we truly know as students.
In 2007, George Washington Elementary School in Maryland had such miraculous improved test scores from previous years that the U.S. Department of Education declared them a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. A year later it was discovered that the answer sheets had been tampered with; someone had changed the answers from incorrect to correct in the math and reading sections of the tests. This costs the principal her job while helping other schools reconsider their forms of testing.
Stories like these provide examples for outsiders of the schools that these standardized tests don’t just affect the students but also the teachers and administrators. Each test result reflects the salary of teachers and if they will keep their job or not. This fact adds stress on the teachers to do everything in their power to help their students pass these tests, even if it means giving them the answers such as the George Washington Elementary School in Maryland. With this knowledge of the teachers it makes me wonder why we haven’t changed the way we test the students comprehension.
As I began to research the topic of standardized tests I found that I was not the only one who felt that schools should take a different approach to finding out what the students are learning in the classroom. There are many different methods for testing students without causing all of the unnecessary stress of a uniform test.
In 2007, George Washington Elementary School in Maryland had such miraculous improved test scores from previous years that the U.S. Department of Education declared them a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. A year later it was discovered that the answer sheets had been tampered with; someone had changed the answers from incorrect to correct in the math and reading sections of the tests. This costs the principal her job while helping other schools reconsider their forms of testing.
Stories like these provide examples for outsiders of the schools that these standardized tests don’t just affect the students but also the teachers and administrators. Each test result reflects the salary of teachers and if they will keep their job or not. This fact adds stress on the teachers to do everything in their power to help their students pass these tests, even if it means giving them the answers such as the George Washington Elementary School in Maryland. With this knowledge of the teachers it makes me wonder why we haven’t changed the way we test the students comprehension.
As I began to research the topic of standardized tests I found that I was not the only one who felt that schools should take a different approach to finding out what the students are learning in the classroom. There are many different methods for testing students without causing all of the unnecessary stress of a uniform test.
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