Standardized Lies Money And Civil Rights Summary

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Standardized testing has always been a primary concern for teachers, parents, and the students taking the exams themselves. It is believed that standardized testing creates anxiety for all school-aged students, for the fear of failing the test, and puts unneeded pressure on the teachers to “teach to the test” rather than promote free learning. The documentary “Standardized Lies, Money & Civil Rights: How Testing Is Ruining Public Education,” directed by Daniel Hornberger (2013), depicts the misconceptions, truth, and reality of standardized testing, past, present, and future all across the United States.
The film starts off by giving a clear representation of some key issues regarding the effectiveness of standardized testing in the school …show more content…

I will start by informing the public. Before I watched this documentary, I had no idea of the potential consequences that standardized tests could have on teachers or schools-- I just thought that standardized test scores prevented students from increasing in grade level or graduating from high school, etc. I was surprised to learn that if a teachers class preforms poorly on a standardized test, that her/his job could be in jeopardy. I remember taking the MSAs and HSHs, and specifically, I remember how stressed out my teachers were prior to the tests; little did I know that my test scores could greatly affect them and/or my school. I think “Standardized Lies, Money & Civil Rights: How Testing Is Ruining Public Education,” directed by Daniel Hornberger (2013) is an important film for everyone to watch, especially parents. I was shocked at how much money was being put into these tests, especially since they do not even give an accurate representation of each student’s true abilities. As a result of this documentary, my perspectives have shifted--I now do not see the necessity of standardized tests and I believe teachers should be able to creatively teach their class life skills and useful information, and avoid “teaching to the test” at all costs. I believe that teachers should not be expected to cram information into their students so that they will do well on the test, and instead, teachers should create their lesson plan based on their students’ skills and interests. I will inform parents in my community about the options they have to prevent their child/children from having to be subject to standardized tests. Overall, standardized testing seems to cause more harm than good, and therefore, should be avoided whenever

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