<p>In New York City, many high schools have their students take the Regents Exam, which is a standardized test that (apparently) tests aptitude in certain subjects. It completely ruins the education system by forcing teachers to plan their classes just to prepare for the test. [This goes hand-in-hand with the argument made by Paul Lockhart in his essay, Lockhart's Lament (I recommend googling and reading it - it's very insightful).] I could delve much deeper into the problem, but I want to make this post nice and short. A few things I want to discuss are:</p>
<p>-Does this same corruption exist in other cities, states, countries, etc.? Why or why not?</p>
<p>-What measures can be taken to fix/replace the system? How can students call for reform?</p>
<p>-Should the Regents Exam (and similar standardized tests) be removed? Why or why not?</p>
<p>-Would any of you like to help?</p>
<pre><code>I feel very strong about this and I'm completely serious and sincere in my intent. I don't mean to bash the education system, board of ed, teachers, principals, etc.; rather, I want to revolutionize it. I know it's a tough problem to tackle, but I'd at least like to start fixing it. Comments, suggestions, questions, concerns, and thoughts are welcome.
</code></pre>
<p>We have the PSAE (Prarie State Achievement Exam) in Illinois which is taken during junior year. It’s required for graduation. One good thing about it is that the ACT is one of the required parts, so you get a free one. The other part that relates to what we’ve actually learned in school is pretty simple.</p>
<p>Texas TAKS testing is required to pass your grade in elementary/middle school. Many teachers just prepare their students to pass these tests, which are extremely easy.</p>
<p>There are teachers who try to teach only because there’s the Regents. If the Regents doesn’t exist, I honestly can’t imagine certain classes doing anything even remotely close to learning, though I can see how taking a course that’s structured strictly based on Regents prep can be really frustrating as well.</p>
<p>The Regents is nothing like an AP exam----it’s about 100% easier and covers normal high school material.</p>
<p>The mention of AP exams being similar to Regents exams brings up another question: How similar are the exams and is the curriculum in an AP class skewed as well?</p>
<p>Ideally, I’d like to form some sort of community/get some more students behind this. Anyone interested?</p>
<p>I took the writing test in September. It was so flippin’ easy. We were looking at the example essays that people wrote in the past, and it sounded like a third grader wrote it. And yet, the student got a passing grade. Ah, the standards of Georgia.</p>
<p>Same with the math classes for people in 2012 and younger. The double math classes start “Math 4” next semester, and OF COURSE, Georgia hasn’t created the textbook, standards, or a curriculum for it yet. So IDK what we’re going to do. </p>
<p>The math classes now just combine all types of math, in which we master no subject. We just know how to do some things in Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Stats, etc. My teacher calls it a failure, and since we 2012ers are the first class to do it, we’re the guinea pigs. We didn’t have textbooks freshman year, and of course we won’t have any second semester.</p>
<p>I live in New York, and the regents are very easy. There so easy a Junior HS student could take it and pass. There should not be an issue with them, because they make it so you can easily pass them. Or maybe its the school I go to. The teacher preps us for the regents the month before, so during the year we learn something.</p>