(Powers & Camara). In other studies, the pre-test to the coaching is not even an actual operational form of the SAT or PSAT. Students are less likely to be motivated to take these tests and due well on them. Thus, after their coaching there will be inaccurately high estimates of score increases. Sometimes, coaching firms don’t consider the average growth for students like maturation, educational experiences both in and out of school, increased familiarity with the test, and error when measuring before and after coaching changes.
Despite the benefits teachers and schools obtain, standardized testing like the FCAT is not effective in evaluating student’s performance because not all students learn at the same level, they fall under pressure, and they are being taught just for the test which prevents from learning skills that are yet to be learned. Admittedly, the FCAT brings benefits to
Erica Goldson Valedictorian Speech Response Erica Goldson brought up a very controversial and very interesting topic about our current education system in the US. She states that students are so focused at memorizing data and getting good grades, that they miss out on the whole idea of learning and being educated. I agree with her, students should be learning and absorbing the material, instead of memorizing for the next big test and just forgetting about it later on. Graduating seems like the top priority in students nowadays, and to me that is just upsetting. And the students who are very talented and are very motivated to learn and be driven in a non-academic subject seem to have a more negative image than the people who are driven by academics.
Everything academic revolves around the year-end state testing to the point that other subjects are usually neglected. Reading, math and writing are the main thrusts of schools, and are obviously important. However, critics state that children are not receiving well-rounded educations because of the emphasis on these subjects
There are some major problems with using them. Students with high I.Q’s are expected to do better than the rest of their class, and on the flip side students with low I.Q.’s are expected to do worse. That is not always fair because students with low I.Q.’s might not get the attention needed simply because their teachers do not expect much from them. In the end there is no fairness to some. This leads to an ethical question of, is giving an intelligence test ethical?
Instead of learning some actual useful information, teachers fret over the test rather than about how much that student is actually absorbing into their head. It has become a practice to ‘teach the test’ in today’s teaching world. Tests like SAT, ACT and AP have you pay quite a bit and don’t even show you what you did wrong, blocking out the possibility of even trying to learn from your mistakes. It is believed to be a clever tactic used to gain more profit, students keep coming back to prove they are worth more with those silly numbers. They stress day and night over these overrated tests, like previously stated channeling out the imagination, curiosity and good will.
Furthermore, without the right study skills and preparation needed the odds of success lower dramatically. Having adequate study skills can put you in the right direction to achieve academic success. Everyone is different, meaning different study skills, and working differently for students. To start off, it is best to study in timed segments. Don’t try to cram all of your studying in at once; it is best to take breaks in between.
In Patrick O’Malley’s essay “More Testing, More Learning”, he claims that the only way to improve students’ learning is frequently test. Malley knows that many college professors only use midterms and finals to judging students abilities. As a result, many students feel stressful about the test, and they fail the test. So Malley proposes that professors need to give more frequent brief exams. In this way, students would learn more efficiently, study more regularly, and have less anxiety.
NCLB was established so that students were not held back in a grade and were promoted to the next grade. I think this is a political aspect that is failing our students. If a student is not understanding the material or doesn’t pass the tests showing that they understand and can retain the information, I don’t believe that they should be promoted. I believe that it only hurts the students because they get more behind as they advance through the levels. The ethical issues that regard the high stakes testing is that it could be unfair to some students.
It decides if they go into remedial, regular, or advanced classes. Then some students end up learning more than others where learning actually counts because administrators want to get them test ready. Before, teachers taught the subject and sometime throughout the year students took a test without pressure that they would be held back or certain things like that. Teachers are also affected because they actually have to teach two courses. There is a period out of the year where they can only teach about the subjects on the test.