As a future educator, I feel standardization is one of the inappropriate things in a public school. I have always found fault in standardized tests at instruments of intelligence because they are biased, reduce the scope and quantity course work, diminish the role of teachers and do not make students active learners.
Over the summer, in my class, we discussed how biased standardized tests are. They are culturally biased towards the dominate class, as evident in scores. Suburban schools do much better then inner city schools, generally, but you can not hold students to the same standards. Students have different experiences they bring the test, that affects performance. I do not like standardized tests because they are high stakes tests. The funding a school district gets is dependent on how well students do. This means teachers try to drill information into the students. This does not make students active learners, but rather passive learners. I think active learning is essential because it teaches students to solve problems. I think memorization servers a purpose, but how many of actually remember what we memorized in a high school class? I think problem solving solving and analysis is more important and it prepares students for the real world / college.
The other problem I have with standardization is that the state has a lot to do with it. State legislators write the standards and make the tests high stakes test. What does the politicians have to do with schools? They are not teachers, they do not know how to measure student performance. Most of they probably could not eve describe what scope and sequence is. Yet, buraracteric reforms are imposed on schools in the name of objectivity and and equality. I think educate should be authentic to the student, meaning to their experiences. Learning should be something the students should know and they get excited about.
Charlie
16 years ago
2 comments:
I think another argument against standardized tests is that they test a kid on their knowledge of facts & figures.
Say a kid is being tested on the basic food groups. Just because a kid knows that there are six basic food groups does not mean that he/she truly understands the dynamics of all of them. Then there are considerations to consider that will change the amount of so-and-so that someone should eat. What if an individual has diabetes, or is allergic to milk? If a kid can incorporate these considerations and develop a reasonable diet plan, then they have truly learned the material.
I agree with everything you are arguing about standardized testing, but there is one other thing I've learned over this semester. As pre-service teachers, we all know and probably agree that standardized tests aren't helpful and test to the state's standards. What I've learned over the past 3 or 4 weeks, is that my students also don't take this test as seriously as we may have used to as students.
When my students were "practicing" for the WKCE they kept telling me, "it's a stupid test that doesn't even teach us anything." I was secretly smiling, because my students weren't being tricked into thinking this test was the most important things in their lives. Also, they were aware of all the things they weren't taught yet, but were still being tested on. I loved that they questioned that!
Post a Comment