With the HSPAs fresh in our memory I thought I would begin a discussion on standardized testing. Standardized testing may have been originally implemented to create a level playing field for students anywhere and truly assess student's abilities. In different schools and different classes an "A" can mean entirely different things. However as we all have seen standardized testing has many weaknesses. To name some:
1) Some bright students simply do not perform well on tests due to nerves, poor habits, etc. and vice-versa some poor students for some reason or another perform well on tests.
2) Standardized testing often includes long hours of testing early in the morning when students are not mentally ready to be tested.
3) Students in upper-middle class families have certain advantages when it comes to studying/preparation (SAT tutoring/classes for example)
4) Standardized testing often tests subjects that are very general or basic and cannot accurately assess a student's ability to thrive in the classroom.
etc...
However, standardized testing is still crucial in college applications, high school proficiency, and in the workplace. As everyone has surely seen the HSPA may be one of the most pointless time consuming tests ever created and surely costs the state of NJ thousands (if not millions) of dollars to distribute.
What's your stance on standardized testing: Do you feel it is neccesarry and efficient in its current form? or possibly you think with some reforming standardized testing can become the proper method to lay a level playing field? or possibly you feel that standardized testing is at its core a bad idea and would feel the best option for it to be eliminated completely? If you fall into category number 3 perhaps you could propose an alternative method.
-Tyler Harris
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3 comments:
Standardized tests are a good way to measure the academic knowledge of students as a whole. It can show where they are succeeding and where they are not, and make adjustments accordingly. But they should only be used as a very vague reference for measuring individual students. I hear of people talking the SAT ridiculous number of times. Why? As if scoring a few points higher will help them get into a better college. No, that should not be the purpose of standardized tests.
Standardized testing may have been a way to measure knowledge in the past, but it does not seem to be that way now. SATs, for example, has become a test that is highly prepared for and the scores can be enhanced according to how much money you are willing to spend on tutoring.
Higher scores will not get you into better colleges on their own, but they will help you stand out more than another student who may have the same capabilities as you. Colleges have also published a specific score range that they are looking for students to be in, so students do have legitamate reasons to think that higher scores will get them into better colleges.
-Jen
While I think at one point standardized tests like the SATs may have been an accurate way to compare students on basic level of academic achievement, I believe it no longer fits the times. As Jen has pointed out, these tests have become more an indicator of how much your family can afford to spend on tutors and practice books. Even though the upper class always has had an advantage, this gap has been even further extended.
As far as whether these tests are useful or not - I would have to describe them as almost a necessary evil. Despite being a test for the "rich," the SATs provides a point for comparison between those applicants who do fall into certain categories.
-Kelsey
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