Sunday, October 23, 2011
Becky Glucksman/ Are Students Expected to Test Like Machines?
In "Stop the Standardized Test Tyranny," (Business Week, February 18, 2009), Greg Fish argues that standardized testing is not an accurate representation of students' levels. He expresses his discontent with the system by asking the reader such rhetorical questions as, "What if Johnny or Suzie has a bad day and doesn't answer enough questions correctly?" Fish criticizes the tests, asserting that students are not machines and excel in different areas and have different talents. By addressing the educated readers of "Business Week," and appealing to a powerful audience that has the authority to change the system, Fish hopes to motivate people to outlaw standardize testing.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree with Greg Fish that standardized testing is not an accurate representation of student's knowledge. Each student is different in his or her ability to test, and they are not like "machines", as the editorial says. There are a lot of factors that influence a student's performance on a test, for example the student's mood, the amount of sleep the student got, the breakfast he or she had or the weather the day of the test. The rhetorical questions in the editorial are effective literary devices because they cause the reader to question the situation and relate to what the question is asking. Students are not machines, but they act like them because so much of their future depends on standardized testing. Colleges should not look at test scores because there is much more to a student than a score on a test from one day in their four years of high school. Colleges should look at the transcript, character, leadership and community service of a student. Different talents, strengths and accomplishments define a student. A number from a standardized test does not.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the author’s view that standardized testing is unfair. Standardized testing is so inconsistent; it really does depend on the day the students take the test. In addition, a standardized test is the equivalent to a “one-size-fits-all” test. People are different. They have different strengths and different weaknesses. How is everyone supposed to take a test despite these differences? As for the stakes of these standardized tests; they are astronomically high. If the students do not test well on a particular day, then the school could potentially have its funding revoked. The high stakes and unfairness of the test promote teaching to the test and cheating. Isn’t standardized testing theoretically supposed to help the education system by fairly evaluating the students’ levels?
ReplyDeleteHere is the website...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.businessweek.com/debateroom/archives/2009/02/stop_the_standardized_test_tyranny.html
I agree with both Katherine and Greg Fish in that standardized testing cannot possibly measure a student's knowledge. Every individual excels within a different area, and thousands and thousands experience intense test-taking anxiety, rendering their scores all but worthy of disregard. Each test administered really is a luck-of-the-draw system. There is no telling exactly which questions, functions, words, or knowledge it will require you to draw upon. Simply snoozing through one freshman year math period could leave you staring blankly at a page. Never having encountered a single word in your entire extensive history of literary analysis could leave you begging the dictionary on your shelf at home to telepathically lend you it's contents. Standardized testing takes the human aspect of education and cages it like songbird. No longer are students encouraged to ponder and experience curiosity towards their world. They are encourage to drill, compute, calculate, and memorize. Numbers cannot define a character, and the fact that they are being utilized as a device to determine the future worth of a student is frankly preposterous. To receive three little numbers in your inbox that contain the key to your entire future, all achievements, awards, and effort disregarded, is a truly demoralizing experience for students-- whether the score is 2400 or 1300. To know that suddenly that is all you are- a number in a system.
ReplyDelete