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“The average homework load for first- through third-graders has doubled over the past two decades,” (Clement). If this is true why are we adding testing into the mix too? Standardizing testing should not be such a big part of school for kids of all ages.
What are standardized tests used for? There are two different types of standardized tests the high school tests and then the SAT’s that are used for colleges.
“Exams used to be administrated mostly to decide where to place kids or what kind of help that they needed, only recently have scores been published on paper, and used to critic students, teachers, and schools” (Kohn, 1). Teachers all teach differently so it shouldn’t be used as ability to critic how good, or bad, of scores that schools or teachers are getting. “Good teaching is difficult, demanding, and time-consuming and requires a great deal of knowledge,” (Covaleskie, 7). This is showing that teachers do teach different and that they may not all teach the same thing and it may not all be on the test that the kids will have to take. "Majorities of teachers were telling us that NCLB was badly affecting teacher morale," but majorities "also said it was having a good effect on coordination in the schools," (Clement). This quote also shows that you also can’t compare scores of children. All children learn at different speeds and remember different things. An interesting quote that I found while reading articles is,
Kids no longer read for pleasure after age 8, mainly because of too much homework, Many teachers argue that homework "is reinforcement" of what's studied in class, but there's no evidence that it helps younger children, (Clement).
I find this interesting because I think that it is true the only reason why I need these days is because I have to for class, granted there are people that like to read but I don’t think that there are a lot of people that do these days, especially if they are in school.
But these tests are not our primary concern here. It's far more worrisome that even students who don't plan to continue their schooling after high school and even students who are much too young to be thinking about college are subjected to a barrage of standardized tests that don't provide much useful information. (Kohn, 4)
Standardized tests, and even the SAT’s are full of information that overload students brains with things that they won’t even need to use in the ‘real world’. As we move on to talk about the SAT’s, they help students to get into college, and apply for scholarships. The better that the test scores is the higher the chance of getting granted a scholarship or getting into the dream college that you have always wanted to get into.
As time goes on, those scores mean less and less. Too many colleges- especially public universities- adopt a “rigid formula of tests and grades” that operates as “a barrier to opportunities” for many students. (Jost)
I find this quote very important; think about it when people are in there 40’s and 50’s what are these test scores going to stand for? Test scores aren’t going to help people get a job or help them to raise kids. Overall the tests are useless for future tasks in a person’s life.
Another reason that I am against standardized testing is because there are many kids that have test anxiety. There are many types of test anxiety from knowing everything when you are studying for the test and then forgetting everything when the test is put on the table; to a small dose of test anxiety just forgetting some things when the test is put in front of you.
Test anxiety has grown into a subfield of educational psychology, and its prevalence means that the tests producing this reaction are not giving us a good picture of what many students really know and can do. The more a test is made to "count"—in terms of being the basis for promoting or retaining students, for funding or closing down schools—the more that anxiety is likely to rise and the less valid the scores become. (Kohn, 3)
You can’t really base tests on the scores because so many people have test anxiety. The scores to the tests shouldn’t be a main source for someone to graduate high school. “There are plenty of students who think deeply and score well on tests” (7). This doesn’t per say have to do with students with test anxiety but it does show that there are kids out there that are able to stay focused when they take tests.
In conclusion, I am 110% against standardized testing from people with test anxiety, to the information that is in the tests that are useless. I find that the way that the tests are scored are unfair because different people learn different things and then people may not even remember what they are learning because they have test anxiety and can’t remember any thing.
questions:
1. My paper is really short what else can i add on to it to make it longer?
2. is there any part of my paper really confusing?
3. what else can i add to my introduction?
What are standardized tests used for? There are two different types of standardized tests the high school tests and then the SAT’s that are used for colleges.
“Exams used to be administrated mostly to decide where to place kids or what kind of help that they needed, only recently have scores been published on paper, and used to critic students, teachers, and schools” (Kohn, 1). Teachers all teach differently so it shouldn’t be used as ability to critic how good, or bad, of scores that schools or teachers are getting. “Good teaching is difficult, demanding, and time-consuming and requires a great deal of knowledge,” (Covaleskie, 7). This is showing that teachers do teach different and that they may not all teach the same thing and it may not all be on the test that the kids will have to take. "Majorities of teachers were telling us that NCLB was badly affecting teacher morale," but majorities "also said it was having a good effect on coordination in the schools," (Clement). This quote also shows that you also can’t compare scores of children. All children learn at different speeds and remember different things. An interesting quote that I found while reading articles is,
Kids no longer read for pleasure after age 8, mainly because of too much homework, Many teachers argue that homework "is reinforcement" of what's studied in class, but there's no evidence that it helps younger children, (Clement).
I find this interesting because I think that it is true the only reason why I need these days is because I have to for class, granted there are people that like to read but I don’t think that there are a lot of people that do these days, especially if they are in school.
But these tests are not our primary concern here. It's far more worrisome that even students who don't plan to continue their schooling after high school and even students who are much too young to be thinking about college are subjected to a barrage of standardized tests that don't provide much useful information. (Kohn, 4)
Standardized tests, and even the SAT’s are full of information that overload students brains with things that they won’t even need to use in the ‘real world’. As we move on to talk about the SAT’s, they help students to get into college, and apply for scholarships. The better that the test scores is the higher the chance of getting granted a scholarship or getting into the dream college that you have always wanted to get into.
As time goes on, those scores mean less and less. Too many colleges- especially public universities- adopt a “rigid formula of tests and grades” that operates as “a barrier to opportunities” for many students. (Jost)
I find this quote very important; think about it when people are in there 40’s and 50’s what are these test scores going to stand for? Test scores aren’t going to help people get a job or help them to raise kids. Overall the tests are useless for future tasks in a person’s life.
Another reason that I am against standardized testing is because there are many kids that have test anxiety. There are many types of test anxiety from knowing everything when you are studying for the test and then forgetting everything when the test is put on the table; to a small dose of test anxiety just forgetting some things when the test is put in front of you.
Test anxiety has grown into a subfield of educational psychology, and its prevalence means that the tests producing this reaction are not giving us a good picture of what many students really know and can do. The more a test is made to "count"—in terms of being the basis for promoting or retaining students, for funding or closing down schools—the more that anxiety is likely to rise and the less valid the scores become. (Kohn, 3)
You can’t really base tests on the scores because so many people have test anxiety. The scores to the tests shouldn’t be a main source for someone to graduate high school. “There are plenty of students who think deeply and score well on tests” (7). This doesn’t per say have to do with students with test anxiety but it does show that there are kids out there that are able to stay focused when they take tests.
In conclusion, I am 110% against standardized testing from people with test anxiety, to the information that is in the tests that are useless. I find that the way that the tests are scored are unfair because different people learn different things and then people may not even remember what they are learning because they have test anxiety and can’t remember any thing.
questions:
1. My paper is really short what else can i add on to it to make it longer?
2. is there any part of my paper really confusing?
3. what else can i add to my introduction?
.