Standardized exams are generally disliked by many who must take them. They are considered to be stressful, time consuming, inadequate, tiring, and overall “pointless.” As I sat in my living room drinking my morning coffee and watching the “news” (I’m using that term very lightly) I saw that students no longer will be provided with free Regents exams and that the 15 million dollar expense will be placed upon the people. At first I thought, well thats the price you pay for having kids, but to my dismay I soon discovered that the burden will now be placed on taxpayers rather than the parents who decided to have them!!! Infuriated, I turned to my blog for a little anger relief. Let’s say that my priorities are elsewhere and I do not want children. Why should I have to pay for other people’s children’s expenses. Many are given a tax break when they have children, its no wonder its the career choice for many women. So if someone wants to go and have 7 children they are applauded with assistance and tax breaks, while others who are contributing to society rather than the population are taxed and forced to pay for others “contributions.”
On the same account, while I really don’t feel like shelling out more money to pay for other people’s decisions I do agree that standardized testing is a must. I was reading up on the debate of standardized testing and saw that the cons were a little ridiculous. Having gone through countless amounts of standardized tests as well as the stress that comes with it while I lived in a neighborhood that was no where near well-off, the point about tests being “stressful” to young kids is quite irrelevant. Society believes that exams pertaining to education are stressful and should be dealt with, but it’s ok to leave the issue of gruesome video games and cartoons containing sexual innuendo’s to the side. If these exams are stressful to these young children then maybe it’s because they are spending a little too much time playing those video games and watching those cartoons and not enough time in the books. Making it easier to obtain degrees is only depreciating the value of them. In the 80‘s, a bachelors degree was quite the accomplishment and now it seems as if it is becoming the equivalent of obtaining a high school diploma and what does that make a high school diploma? The equivalent of graduating junior high. Tests and restrictions allow society to filter out its toilet cleaners from it’s rocket scientists.
I found an interesting and laughable quote by a woman named Margie named online regarding the debate on standardized tests, “As much as test creators try to do away with testing bias, it may be impossible to rid tests of it altogether. I once tutored a 5th grader who did not know what a recipe was. If a standardized test was to ask questions directed at a recipe, that child would have been at a huge disadvantage because most fifth grade students know and have had at least some experience dealing with recipes, but she did not. There is just no way to know for certain that every child being tested has a fair amount of knowledge going into the test” (1) Ok Ms. Margie, if you are a tutor then you probably should know that if a 5th grader does not know the word “recipe” then clearly he/she should not be in the 5th grade but should have been left back in Kindergarten where they teach words just like this. Perhaps the parents know this exact bit of information and that is precisely why tutoring was brought into the equation.
I am currently bracing myself for a standardized test myself. Yes it is stressful and yes it is time consuming but I am taking this exam in order to gain entry in a graduate program allowing me better opportunities throughout my life and leaving behind those who decided to avoid working hard for opportunities throughout their careers in school. Perhaps reading this it may seem harsh but on the contrary I feel like that “American” way is teaching a life too lenient and laid-back. We should not be taught that the bare minimum is acceptable, such as obtaining a high school diploma. By getting rid of standardized tests we are doing exactly that.
Additonal Reading :
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/state-may-charge-schools-for-regents-exams-1.2526775
- “Considering the Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing.” Find Health, Education,Science & Technology Articles, Reviews, How-To and Tech Tips At Bright Hub – Web. 09 Dec. 2010. <http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/16137.aspx?p=2>.
