Teaching the Test
Why is this a problem?
Education is not merely designed to teach students how to take tests. The classroom is where children grow and develop into themselves. Limited curriculum that are "handcuffed" to what the creator deems important. Everyone is gifted in different ways and our classroom should not educative boundaries.
Education is not merely designed to teach students how to take tests. The classroom is where children grow and develop into themselves. Limited curriculum that are "handcuffed" to what the creator deems important. Everyone is gifted in different ways and our classroom should not educative boundaries.
Marginalized Youth
Motivation is affected by everything that surrounds us. Our families, our relationships and everything we involve ourselves with affect how we continue living. Confidence is something that needs to be cherished. It is one of the hardest aspects to build and it is shattered with ease. High stakes testing only measures certain traits, but failure affects motivation which influences every aspect of life. When a student fails it affects them. Researcher Laura-Lee Kearns from St. Xavier University, explains how high stakes test creates a feeling on inadequacy and children and adolescents who do not achieve at the same level as their peers. This can create a culture of “marginalized youth.” These students lose confidence in their own ability to achieve in trouble areas. The equity of the classroom as student’s sense of well-being and even identity sink lower. Failure needs to be a motivator to improve deficiencies. Failure should not shame students, but motivate them to improve themselves.
We Are Far From Standard
We live in a land of many cultures. Each of these cultures have different values and norms. The idea of public education is, at its roots, education for all. Standardized tests do not provide a level “playing” field for every student everywhere. Wallace-Adam’s “quiet war” described the attempt to assimilate Native American through education. He explained how native culture was being eliminated through Americanization. The “cookie cutter” approach of standardized testing today draws striking similarities to issues we face today in our inner cities.
"Standardized testing does not consider local culture."
Our culture is far from standard. The colorful history of the United States leaves us with a melting pot of students coming from families with different educative backgrounds. The goal of public education is to provide an equatable learning environment for everyone. The education system is ignoring social classes by not providing a more flexible and contemporary and dynamic testing method Cultural differences weaken the value of having standard anything let alone high stakes testing.
"Standardized testing does not consider local culture."
Our culture is far from standard. The colorful history of the United States leaves us with a melting pot of students coming from families with different educative backgrounds. The goal of public education is to provide an equatable learning environment for everyone. The education system is ignoring social classes by not providing a more flexible and contemporary and dynamic testing method Cultural differences weaken the value of having standard anything let alone high stakes testing.