Do you feel like public school needs to change? Many people feel public schools in the United States today are too traditional, students have been going to school for ages, and yet the public school systems are hardly changing for the better. Since public schools are all programmed to run a certain way it is restricting learning of all ages, and shattering the ability for some students to find their true potential. As a student in a public school I have a strong belief the education department needs to change for the better, I am constantly being pushed to learn the way public school wants me to even if it is not my learning style. If public schools today want to see improvement in their students they must stop running like factories, forcing …show more content…
Some people even say that the Common Core Curriculum is likely lowering standards instead of raising them (Jeynes 7). From reading many studies I see that many parents and even teachers do not like that their children are being forced to learn with Common Core. An article on Common Core believes that “countless teachers and educators continue to argue that Common Core will "dumb down" educational standards and give faculty less control over what they can teach in the classroom” (Lebon 6). Teachers are the ones who know their students and know what kind of ways they need to teach to help their students learn and grow, but the teachers are forced to teach a certain way to keep their jobs. Common core gives no room for learning other than academically, for example the Common Core is pushing for students to read non-fictional books instead of fiction so they are reading more practical books for the workplace (Jeynes 9). All of the classic books students could read and educate themselves with are trying to be pushed out the picture because they aren’t non-fiction. If we get rid of Common core and let the school and teachers decided how to teach, and what to teach I believe the schools will be way better …show more content…
A standardized test is “to assess the aptitudes and achievement of students. These tests have been used to make informed decisions about curriculum and instruction” (Tager 2). Supposedly standardized tests are used to see where students are academically, yet these tests are taken every year and are never actually used. Standardized testing is one of the biggest issues in public schooling, and in my opinion falls under the main reason why there are so many other issues like the ones I have mentioned beforehand in this essay. One reason I believe standardized testing needs to be removed is because of these tests teachers are being paid on how well the students are doing, and I including others believe that the only reason we still have these tests to this day is so the teachers do not have to be paid as much. Standardized testing overwhelms so many students that they are not capable of testing well. A mother in an article I read makes a great remark about teachers pay “Are we really going to use these scores to evaluate teachers and determine how much they will be paid? The idea of "pay for performance," which involves supplementing teacher pay based on student test scores does not lead to better results” (Tager 5). Teachers are the ones doing all the hard work to educate these students and should be giving out the give out the tests instead of getting paid less for random tests that have no
Parents and advocates of education can all agree that they want their students to be in the best hands possible in regards to education. They want the best teachers, staffs, and schools to ensure their student’s success. By looking at the score results from standardized testing, teachers can evaluate effectively they are doing their job. On the other side, a proponent for eliminating standardized testing would argue that not all students care passionately about their education and will likely not perform to expectations on the test. However, receiving the numerical data back, teachers can construe the student’s performances and eliminate the outliers of the negligent kids. Teachers can then look at the individual scores and assign those outliers to get the help they need in school. This helps every student getting an equal chance at education. Overall, taking a practice standardized test can let a teacher look at individual questions and scores and interpret what they need to spend more time on teaching. A school also can reap the benefits from standard testing to ensure they are providing the best possible education they can. The school can look at the average scores from a group and hold the teacher accountable for the student’s results on the test. The school can then determine the best course of action to pursuit regarding the teacher’s career at the school. By offering teachers and schools the opportunity to grow and prosper, standardized testing is a benefit for the entire education
One time I heard a teacher at my old high school tell a new teacher that their job is to teach to the test and nothing else. I did not really know what she meant, but I knew something about what she said sounded very wrong. I thought why are they just teaching us how to pass the test instead of just teaching us what we need to know? Later I found out that whether or not I graduate depends on passing the test. The idea of standardized testing to say whether or not students graduate is a bad one. Not just bad for schools, principals, and teachers, but it can mean the end of a student’s future before it begins. That means not only does schools suffer, but everyone in our communities, states, and country suffers. It used to be that students had to take standardized tests every year. The results of these tests said what school districts would get more money or less money for the next school year. And it would also tell schools and teachers if some students needed to be put into higher level programs such as gifted and talented or advanced placement courses or if they were having problems and should be put in special education.
Standardized tests have been used to see how much a child has learned over a certain period of time. These tests have been a highly debated issue with many parents and just people in general. In the article “Opting out of standardized tests? Wrong answer,” the author Michelle Rhee argues that people should not be trying to opt out of standardized tests because it allows the country to see how much a child has learned and the things they need to improve. On the other hand, in the article “Everything You’ve Heard About Failing Schools Is Wrong,” the author Kristina Rizga argues that standardized tests are not an efficient way to measure a student’s intelligence.
Standardized tests compare students in different states, districts, and schools. The comparisons lead to “unhealthy competition among the schools” (Pros and Cons 2). In the article, “Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing,” it is stated that “Federal funds are given only to those that perform well” (2). This makes the pressures in schools very high and makes the schools evaluate the performance of the teachers and students constantly. “Low scores can prevent a student from progressing to the next grade level or lead to teacher firings and school closures, while high scores ensure continued federal and local funding and are used to reward teachers and administrators with bonus payments” (Use of Standardized Tests 5). Standardized tests give parents a good idea of how well their students are doing and learning. It also leads to exaggerated reports of success. In Jonathan Pollard’s article he says “Consider this passage taken directly from Kohn’s book:” Then it states how when a test is first administered and scores are low, headlines are bad. Then in a few years the scores go up and the headlines are good. Finally, the scores level off or they substitute a new test and the scores drop. Causing the headlines to be bad again. Kohn then states that “This is not due to a change in the competency of teachers, or level of instruction. This is simply the process of students and teachers acclimating to the tests” (Pollard 4).
“To ensure all students are ready for success after high school, the Common Core State Standards establish clear, consistent guidelines for what every student should know and be able to do in math and English language arts from kindergarten through 12th grade” (What Parents Should Know, n.d.). Children are entering a world that is requiring more and more than before. Society is changing meaning education must change to keep up with society. “The standards were drafted by experts and teachers from across the country and are designed to ensure students are prepared for today’s entry-level careers, freshman-level college courses, and workforce training programs” (What Parents Should Know, n.d.). The focus is to allow students to think critically and be able to problem solve; skills needed in life. The Common Core State Standards are also providing ways for teachers to track each student’s progress as they grow and learn throughout the year. Common Core has many good qualities, but nothing is perfect. There will always be issues no matter the
Since the U.S. Congress passed the No Child Left Behind program, standardized testing has become the norm for American schools. Under this system, each child attending a school is required to take a standardized test at specific grade points to assess their level of comprehension. Parents, scholars and all stakeholders involved take part in constant discussions over its effectiveness in evaluating students’ comprehension, teachers’ competency and the effects of the test on the education system. Though these tests were put in place to create equality, experts note that they have created more inequality in the classroom. In efforts to explore this issue further, this essay reviews two articles on standardized testing. This essay reviews the sentiments of the authors and their insight into standardized examination. The articles provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that standardized tests are not effective at measuring a teacher’s competency because they do not take into account the school environment and its effect on the students.
Having a standardized test can keep everyone at an equal level in our education system. For example, a teacher by the name of James Ayoc wrote on an online blog, “ the purpose of testing kids is to figure out what they know and are able to do.” (Aycock) Mr. Aycock uses these standardized tests to assay what his students know and are capable of doing. Another reason Mr. Aycock uses his test is to mark his ability to teach. Mr. James also argues that without the use of standardized testing, he would be unable to compare scores to measure
Standardized testing is not the best way to measure how well a teacher teaches or how much a student has learned. Schools throughout the United States put their main focus on standardized tests; these examinations put too much pressure on the teachers and students and cause traumatizing events. Standardized testing puts strain on teachers and students causing unhealthy occurrences, Common Core is thrown at teachers with no teaching on how to teach the new way which dampers testing scores for all students, and the American College Test determines whether a child gets into college or not based on what they have learned during high school. Standardized tests are disagreeable; tests should not determine ranking of people.
Standardized testing was implemented through the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The main purpose of these tests was to “ensure that students in every public school achieve important learning goals while being educated in safe classrooms by well-prepared teachers,” (Yell). Even though the government may have had good intentions about this program, it has taken a turn for the worst. These tests are actually impairing and inhibiting the educational growth of students because teachers have to teach to the test and not stray from the boundaries at all for fear of low test grades. This may sound like a good thing to most people, but in all actuality, teachers are only teaching the students how to pass tests, not how to think critically and how to learn to love learning. An interview from seventh grade teacher Sherri Empey revealed how she felt about teaching to the test: “I cannot stray from teaching what is on the test at all for fear of having my students place low on the tests. This means that I can’t delve any deeper into any subjects and can only teach the bare minimum, or in other words, what is on the test. I have to pound these ideas into their heads to make sure they can pass ‘the standard,’” (Empey). Teaching to the test is replacing good teaching practices with “drill n’ kill” rote learning.
Many people agree that standardized tests are a reasonable evaluation of a student’s capability. Standardized tests originated in the mid-1800s, in the American education system. W. James Popham defines standardized testing by “any test that’s administered, scored, and interpreted in a standard, predetermined manner” (“Is the Use of…,” 2013). After the No Child Left behind Act (NCLB) came about in the early 2000s, the use of standardized testing became popular. NCLB required yearly testing for specific grades and subjects. If schools did not demonstrate adequate improvement, they were either closed or run by the state. This was done so the state and the tax payers of the schools knew that students were learning and knowing the material. Tax payers especially wanted to make sure their money was going to good use (“Is the Use of…,” 2013). High scores on standardized tests can result in funding for the school, along with bonuses to the facility and staff of the school.
Standardized Tests restrict student learning in the classroom (Cole, Hulley, and Quarles 17). The teachers in a classroom cannot teach what they would like to teach, but rather they are forced to teach what will be on the test. Often, when teachers teach what will be on the test, many students will begin to zone out and do other things, rather than listen to the teacher drill them with memorization for the tests (Willis 59) Teachers are graded based on how well their students do on these standardized tests, so they will teach only what is going to be on the test, to keep their jobs, or even get raises. Whenever this happens, students are hurt because they lose out on many opportunities to learn, and they even lose critical thinking skills. The testing curriculum often also places too many goals for students and teachers to reach, which will force them to move more quickly and not properly address every topic (Popham 71). Which, in the long run with further encourage only teaching the test, and nothing else.
standardized testing has been in use since the 1930s. Originally, it was used to test for kids who may have special needs for education. Now, it is used more as a requirement to receive federal funding and as a measure of students’ education. The “No Child Left Behind” Act of 2001 especially caused this. A standardized test is defined as a test, “…that is given to evaluate the performance of students relative to all other students with the same characteristics… In the United States, standardized testing is one of the primary methods used to measure the performance of educational institutions (and often teachers) and to make decisions about the distribution of funding,” says “Standardized Testing: An Overview” (Issit and Maureen 1). These tests have gone from assessing students for specific fields they may need help in to essentially acting as the basis of our educational system. It was believed that standardized testing would make the quality of every student’s education better by enforcing that specific amounts of information for specific topics need to be covered, but what they are really doing is limiting educational
The issue of standardized testing has been a highly debated issue in the United States for many years and shows no sign of being resolved any time soon. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 was an effort to standardize and improve our education system, but 13 years later it is still in shambles. While many people agree there is a need for some sort of measure for quality education, there is much disagreement about the effectiveness of standardized tests. Some even say federal programs like No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top have gone too far in using test scores to evaluate teachers (Gordon 2013). Unfavorable results from these tests seem to generate more punitive consequences for the teachers and schools than help for the students. The words “high-stakes” are used often in numerous sources to describe the current testing system and refer to decisions that will make a significant impact on both students and teachers. These decisions include repeating a grade or not receiving a diploma for the student and possible loss of a job for the teacher. Standardized testing is an ineffective and expensive way to measure student achievement.
Standardized testing is not an effective way to test the skills and abilities of today’s students. Standardized tests do not reveal what a student actually understands and learns, but instead only prove how well a student can do on a generic test. Schools have an obligation to prepare students for life, and with the power standardized tests have today, students are being cheated out of a proper, valuable education and forced to prepare and improve their test skills. Too much time, energy, and pressure to succeed are being devoted to standardized tests. Standardized testing, as it is being used presently, is a flawed way of testing the skills of today’s students.
The word “Arab” is a cultural term that refers to those who speak Arabic as their first language (Facts about Arabs and the Arab World.) The majority of Arab’s are Muslim; however, they are many that are Christian, Jewish, and a variety of other religions. The Arab world consists of 22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including Algeria, Bahrain, the Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen (Facts about Arabs and the Arab World.) Arab countries have a rich diversity of ethic, linguistic, and religious communities that make them all unique in their own ways. There are over