We frequently hear critics argue that U.S. students can’t write well and that there is a “literacy crisis” in the U.S. What is the origin of these discourses? What do they have to do with immigration, national security, and economics? How does the notion that Americans can’t write drive the national push to test writing? Here we explore the history of writing and testing in the U.S., the “science” and technology of testing approaches, and how the rhetoric of assessment impacts the lives of Americans today.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Standardize Testing in America

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/28/obama-standardized-tests_n_841464.html

This was an article that I recently stumbled upon on the Huffington Post. Personally, seeing that I am not an expert and do not know both sides of standardized testing, I cannot agree or disagree with the President's plan. But I do know, as a student who had them shoved down their throat, I strongly dislike them. Hours upon testing that declared me a "number" and ahead or behind a numerical curve, didn't really help me (I think). It didn't put another teacher in my classroom or change the way I was being taught to help me. Granted, I understand that the statistical value would help kids after me, but it still didn't address the issues that were present at the time.

If hourly testing sessions each marking period were changed to extended study habits, reading or vocabulary help, I feel I would have a different mindset on this subject. Specifically, I know that my county was close enough to Washington D.C. and Baltimore, where this initiative was quite huge. Therefore, we had them as a disruption all the time.

Did anybody else have normal standardized testing as frequently? Or does anybody have built resentment towards it like me?
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2 comments:

Uncle Evil J said...

Sir,
RESENTMENT is not a strong enough word! When I was in high school a decade ago we had the PSAT and I'm pretty sure that was all, but standardized tests in some form or another ended up in every class at some point.

I had always taken these test as a form of deduction, not a measure indicative of what you ascertained in the class. I mean seriously, who gives a scan tron test in an English class anyways?

What's scarier in my opinion are computers that grade written work!

March 28, 2011 at 11:14 PM
Sarah said...

It wasn't so much the standardized tests themselves that bothered me, but more the emphasis and importance the school placed on them. I remember that right before taking the PSSAs junior year, everyone was speculating on how hard they would be, because the school had mandated your scores on the tests would count toward your first quarter grades of senior year. To me, the only thing this accomplished was to avoid the one imbecile who just filled in random bubbles, but somehow the school district thought it to be an accurate reflection of the students intellect.

The other thing that really irked me was the SAT prep course the high school offered as a semester-long class. Talk about teaching to the test!! I never took this class because I honestly didn't understand what substantial knowledge I could take away other than improving my test-taking techniques, and what use does it even have after the SAT is over?

March 29, 2011 at 9:03 AM

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