I hate standardized tests....

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>Last Tuesday, the 8th and 10th graders (I'm in 10th) in my school had to take a writing test that would determine our fate of graduating high school. Usually I have no problems with standardized tests. They are so dumbed down, that it's ridiculous. So this writing test, which included an actual writing portion, and another portion on grammar lasted about 3 hours with 45 minutes for writing (which drives me crazy, it's impossible to write a well-crafted paper on a stupid prompt in 45 min) and the rest of the time for the grammar section. The essay prompt you receive is either persuasive or explanatory. I always get the persuasive one!</p>

<p>You must know, I'm a SLOW writer. Ideas don't come out of nowhere for me. I have to sit and think for awhile, trying to come up with good supporting ideas for my essay. Trying to write a persuasive paper is so much harder for me than explanatory. 45 min for an expository, no problem. 45 minutes for a persuasive paper, unfair. So of course I get a persuasive prompt. It went something like this:</p>

<p>A student writes a high school newspaper article that explains why high school sports athletes should get paid. Do you agree with this article? Explain your reasons.</p>

<p>Obviously, a very stupid prompt. Who thinks up these ideas?? So I chose to go write an essay opposing payed high school athletes. I couldn't find a reason for paying them (as much as I would love have loved to). So I just sat there and wasted 10 minutes thinking of reasons to not pay them. This was all I could come up with:</p>

<p>-Schools would lose money paying athletes, rather than upgrading classrooms.
-Students would go to school to play sports for money, and would shift toward a purely athletic life. They wouldn't care about learning.</p>

<p>That's all I could think of. I tried getting away with a strong, 4 paragraph paper, but it didn't come out very persuasive. It sounded stupid, but I guess if the prompt is dumb, I should give a dumb response? If I don't pass this writing test by getting at least a 4.0 out of 6.0, then I'll have to retake it until I do. I consider myself a good writer, but it's hard for me to write well under pressure and time constraints. On past FCAT writing tests, I'd get a 5.0 or 4.5 on my essay. One time I got a 6.0. </p>

<p>This all boils down to my hate for standardized tests. Teachers hate them. Students hate them. George W. Bush loves them. Determining if a student graduates by a standardized test is asinine. Really do any high schoolers like this ****?</p>

2

<p>Standardized tests are there because the American school system is decentralized with various standards from county to county. One school could graduate students who are at least minimally prepared for the next level while another school will graduate those who are not. It has its advantages and disadvantages; just because you did poorly one section does not mean the entire system is wrong.</p>

<p>If you don't like standardized tests, you are just going to have a thrill when you take the SAT/ACT tests.</p>

3

<p>Also, to add onto my statement, previous presidents before Bush has allowed this program to continue since 1968 and apparently it's not hated enough to be canceled. Furthermore, your school does not receive individual student scores so I don't know where you got the the information that it would determine your graduation:</p>

<p>I am assuming you're talking about that "Nation's Report Card" test sponsored by NAEP:</p>

<p>
[quote]
NAEP does not provide scores for individual students or schools; instead, it offers results regarding subject-matter achievement, instructional experiences, and school environment for populations of students (e.g., fourth-graders) and groups within those populations (e.g., female students, Hispanic students). NAEP results are based on a sample of student populations of interest.

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<p>I might be wrong on this however, all the information was based off from here: <a href="http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

4

<p>It's not only that. The worst part is that teachers are forced to teach to the test; they can't teach what they want to teach. </p>

<p>We can't even learn what we want to learn. We only learn what's on the test. Learning is restricted with standardized testing. That's what really gets me. For example, my english teacher just spent three weeks preparing us for this one writing test, and now we are trying to prepare for the reading test. Where is the fun of learning in English? How is learning stuff that is going to be on a test help me later in life?</p>

<p>There are many more disadvantages to it, but I guess we all have our own opinions.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Also, to add onto my statement, previous presidents before Bush has allowed this program to continue since 1968, and your school does not receive individual student scores so I don't know where you got the the information it would determine your graduation

[/quote]
</p>

<p>You have to keep taking the 10th grade test if you don't pass. You have 11th grade and 12th grade to pass I guess. But why would anyone want to retake it? And if one doesn't pass by 12th grade, he gets held back until he passes it.</p>

5

<p>What you just said is exactly why a lot of schools in the north are eliminating AP courses. Scarsdale, NY just did which is a very big deal. (rich, smartass community) My school doesn't have AP courses for that reason too. All that the teachers do is teach towards the tests. And, as students, we don't learn anything. We just memorize all the material for the test....just like in most classes. I was going to take the AP american gov and politics test but then I looked at it and realized that as much as I learned in that class and as much as i love the topic, I would never want to sit through that exam. It just ruined the subject for me. </p>

<p>Standardized tests due stink. However, they are inevitable unless the national government makes the curriculums for the entire nation and controls education altogether. So until them we will have to sit through the grueling tests *****ing about them the whole time.</p>

6

<p>Haha, your prompt was better than mine. We took a "field test," which is kind of like the real thing except it doesn't count for anything, and the essay prompt was "Write about how an event changed your perspective of a person." I began talking about Kafka and Ayn Rand and used their perspectives to analyze the event, which was how I was friends with Ursula from the Little Mermaid before she grafted octopus legs onto herself during AP Bio and took over Luxembourg, then Sweden, then the world. And I drew a picture.</p>

<p>Yeah. Anyway, I concur with just about everything you said. Down with the man etc. I'm fine with AP and SATs though...but state-mandated examinations are generally just ridiculous.</p>

7

<p>Yea, AP's aren't that bad. You do learn alot, even though it's only for a test rather than for the sake of learning.</p>

<p>State standardized tests, however, are in a different ball field for me. Getting good/bad scores don't determine success. I like to learn because it's fun. I like learning things I'm interested in. I don't like learning things just for a stupid test.</p>

8

<p>haha my 10th grade friends had that same prompt and I thought it was a good prompt.... no because 1) you go in knowing you don't get paid, 2) school budget isn't big enough even with football game earnings and 3) people will join the team even if he or she isn't passionate for the sport like other people</p>

9

<p>Well, the explanatory prompt was alot easier to write about. :D</p>

<p>It went something like this: What are good work ethics? Explain.</p>

<p>I really wish I got that one lol.</p>

10

<p>Welcome to the largest club in the world. :)</p>

11

<p>The only standardized test I can tolerate is the FCAT math section, only because it makes me laugh every time. They put 3rd grade math on a 10th grade test with the weirdest word problems like: </p>

<p>Sandy and Brandy want to take a walk to the beach, which is 200 ft from their school. They both leave their school at the same time. Sandy is walking at 5 mph. Brandy is walking at 6 mph. How much faster will Brandy reach the beach than Sandy?</p>

<p>And there are still some people who don't pass....</p>

12

<p>Indeed. It resembles this:

[quote]
The History of Math Word Problems</p>

<p>Teaching Math in 1950: - (traditional math)
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?</p>

<p>Teaching Math in 1960:
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?</p>

<p>Teaching Math in 1970: - (new math)
A logger exchanges a set "L" of lumber for a set "M" of money. The cardinality of set "M" is 100. Each element is worth one dollar. Make 100 dots representing the elements of the set "M." The set "C", the cost of production contains 20 fewer points than set "M." Represent the set "C" as a subset of set "M" and answer the following question: What is the cardinality of the set "P" of profits?</p>

<p>Teaching Math in 1980:
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.</p>

<p>Teaching Math in 1990: - (Outcome-Based education)
By cutting down beautiful forest trees, the logger makes $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the forest birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down the trees? There are no wrong answers.</p>

<p>Teaching Math in 1996:
By laying off 40% of its loggers, a company improves its stock price from $80 to $100. How much capital gain per share does the CEO make by exercising his stock options at $80. Assume capital gains are no longer taxed, because this encourages investment.</p>

<p>Teaching Math in 1997:
A company outsources all of its loggers. They save on benefits and when demand for their product is down the logging work force can easily be cut back. The average logger employed by the company earned $50,000, had 3 weeks vacation, received a nice retirement plan and medical insurance. The contracted logger charges $50 an hour. Was outsourcing a good move?</p>

<p>Teaching Math in 1998:
A logging company exports its wood-finishing jobs to its Indonesian subsidiary and lays off the corresponding half of its US workers (the higher-paid half). It clear-cuts 95% of the forest, leaving the rest for the spotted owl, and lays off all its remaining US workers. It tells the workers that the spotted owl is responsible for the absence of fellable trees and lobbies Congress for exemption from the Endangered Species Act. Congress instead exempts the company from all federal regulation. What is the return on investment of the lobbying costs?</p>

<p>Teaching Math in 2000:
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $120. How does Arthur Andersen determine that his profit margin is $60?</p>

<p>Teaching Math in 2010:
El hachero vende un camion de carga por $100. El costo de production es........

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13

<p>And the names of people in the problems are always like 'Aliciana' and 'Jorge, Jr.' Because names of actual people are so out there...</p>

14

<p>Yes! That's really annoying. They never pick normal names.</p>

15

<p>Hey Jman2306, the writing portion of the FCAT doesn't count for graduation.</p>

16

<p>Oh, and when they draw pictures they always have to represent EVERYONE...including that kid in the wheelchair...</p>

<p>Lol, last year on the science TAKS exam (the Texas state exam) there was a picture with four kids measuring chemicals and you had to determine which was most accurate - and the pictures played right along with racial stereotypes. The black kids were using test tubes (ftw?!), the white and hispanic kids were using flasks and beakers, and the asians had this huge advanced titration setup...I hope that doesn't offend anyone, but it was hillarious.</p>

17

<p>If you think 45 minutes sucks in writing a 'well crafted essay', try the 25 minute SAT writing :) You're going to have a blast! </p>

<p>The thing is, standardized essay writing is different from writing a paper for a class. VERY different - and they know that. You're never going to get the same kind of quality, so why bother? Just write to the best of your ability, and don't waste time pondering and WHAT you're going to write about: just write. If you make errors, just cross out / erase ... that's why they invented the pencil!</p>

18

<p>I know. AP writing sucks too. I can write good english papers when I'm given over a week to do them. With timed writing, I always get worried that I'll run out of time with the essay unfinished.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Hey Jman2306, the writing portion of the FCAT doesn't count for graduation.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I thought it did. I know that if you don't pass it by 12th grade, you don't get to graduate...you get held back.</p>

19

<p>That's the reading section. You can score whatever on the writing section and still graduate unless they've changed it since I was a sophmore (two years ago). </p>

<p>My prompt was something like 'should schools have mandatory study hall'. It was the lamest thing ever as, at the time, I knew very little about what a study hall entailed! I ended up getting a 5 but was still really peeved.</p>

20

<p>Haha J-man, I feel bad for you. I got the prompt about explaining good work habits. I was done within 20 minutes. Yours is way out there.</p>