Do standardized tests determine who will be successful?

1. 73

   HeatherH104posted 11 years ago

   Do standardized tests determine who will be successful?
   
   As a former music teacher I noticed that a week or two before standardized tests all classes/recess were cancelled to cram test ?'s and answers to the test. Does this really prove what kids have learned or how successful they will be in life?
   
   

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2. 0

   Ben Blackwellposted 11 years ago

   Standardized tests do not prove anything significant about children, and teaching children to the test, especially in the extreme manner you have just described is counterproductive and harmful.  They do not bring out any creativity or original thinking in children, and do much more harm than good.  Standardized tests prove how bad the public school systems are, not how good or bad their students are.

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   1. 73

      HeatherH104posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I agree 100%! I don't understand why our schools do this or what they think they are really proving with the results.

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      Ben Blackwellposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I believe it is partly politics.  Also, I think they believed in it when they first started it, but since then, it has been proven to be bad.  Now, it would take more politics and money to radically change them.

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3. 84

   justateacherposted 11 years ago

   Standardized tests don't prove anything except how to stress out children...we have amazing, bright, wonderful students who perform badly on tests and then get frustrated and want to give up on school...we need some way to monitor progress, but standardized tests are not the way...

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   1. 73

      HeatherH104posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I totally agree. Not to mention there are plenty of successful adults who do not pursue careers in material covered in the test. There has to be a better way of proving children understand and can use information taught to them.

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4. 63

   kmesposted 11 years ago

   I think it provides a basic idea of whether students are learning and retaining concepts. The problem with standardized testing is that too often many other important aspects of education get placed on the back burner like: character education, creativity and applied problem-solving. With so much emphasis on standardized testing it seems that students who think creatively or non-conventionally get marginalized or seen as less capable. For example, I once read a statistic that stated that the majority of students labeled as "gifted" were left-brained or step-by-step, linear thinkers while the majority of students labeled as having a "learning disability" were considered right-brained thinkers who rely on intuition and creativity to solve problems.

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   1. 73

      HeatherH104posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      That's very interesting!
      I do think there are minimal standards kids need to know, just think there has to be a better way of testing it. Having kids cram by memorizing facts on the test for a week before the test doesn't prove real knowledge.

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   Borsiaposted 11 years ago

   I think there has to be a baseline of education that everyone gets to. With out benchmarks there is no way of knowing who is where, this is why students are given tests to begin with.
   So I think standardized tests have a certain value in that respect.
   Whether we like it or not there is a certain amount of "test taking ability" exists in virtually every aspect of life.
   So I think standardized tests have a certain value in that respect.
   After the first go around I think teachers should be able to absorb the tested material into their lesson plan with fair ease. If the test is so complex and unrelated that everyone has to drop everything and cram there is probably something wrong with the test.
   I remember as a student having to take such tests and we weren't given any advanced notice. They just walked in and said "today your lesson is changed ad you will take this test instead." There was no cramming, no extra study time, you just took the test and a few weeks later we would hear how we did.
   
   I would think that the learning curve for teachers would be pretty short since they, in theory, know the material.
   All that said I would have to see the test to say if I favor a certain test. If it is a test on the real subject IE: reading music, that is fine.
   But if it is a test on "who added the inner curlicue to the B flat note and in what year was it adopted?" it is a waste of valuable time.

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      HeatherH104posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for your answer. I agree there have to be certain standards met but cramming the answers before the test doesn't prove practical knowledge. I wonder if there is a better way altogether to assess if what was learned can be used.

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      Borsiaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Well as I said for us it was all just part of the classes, If you were in the second semester of English you were expected to know certain things without extra study. We never had a chance to cram.

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6. 91

   suzettenaplesposted 11 years ago

   Absolutely not.  Some people are terrible test takers yet know how to successfully live life, work well with others at work, and have very successful and fulfilling relationships.  Never, never judge a person on their test-taking abilities.  This from a retired teacher who had to " teach to the test" - waste of time and not education at all.

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   1. 73

      HeatherH104posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for your answer. I'm in complete agreement.

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   letstalkabouteducposted 9 years ago

   No, certainly not. The results of standardized testing are especially meaningless for children under 8. Therefore, parents of young children should opt out of high stakes testing. It's a waste of class time.
   
   Testing has narrowed the scope of education as teachers teach to the test. Kindergarten teachers now have 90 standards to teach, assess, and document. Creativity, exploration, and problem solving have been replaced by rote learning. Knowledgeable, experienced teachers know that standardized testing is out of control but less experienced ones just go along with the program.

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