Standardized Testing.
The very phrase brings horror into the eyes of every student.
Eyes start to widen, fingers start to cramp in anticipation, and that poor unfortunate student, starts to sweat.
Suddenly, in seconds, a once happy classroom turns into a anxiety stricken, yelling, hyperventilating mad house. Students are yelling, demanding answers to frivolous questions that the teacher cannot answer. The entire atmosphere is a mess.
And, all the freak out, is for nothing.
Because (in my probably not humble opinion), standardized tests are useless.
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| actually 99% of students in the school (image source: principalspages) |
They are very, very useless with zero real world life skill outcome.
I guess, hypothetically, in a dystopian universe, standardized tests can be useful. If I step out of my standardized-tests-are-ruining-my-life-and-my-schedule perspective, maybe I can scrap up a list of benefits of testing. Below, is my (very failed) attempt.
- Maybe it tests your intelligence?
- Possibly gives teachers feedback?
- Except for there’s stress?
- And the questions are obscene?
- And there is a time limit?
- And lot’s of pressure?
- Can occasionally lead to melt downs?
- Which is negative?
- Actually the entire concept is negative?
Now, readers, the very worst part of standardized testing is the way (some) teachers approach the subject. The approach? Teaching to the test.
To quote my mother, “teaching to the test is stupid and is not actual learning.”
I have never agreed more with a statement.
To quote my teacher, “I think my kids are acting out because of the tests.”
I also agree with that statement.
Basically, I agree with any statement regarding standardized testing besides “I think standardized testing have a positive impact on student’s mental health and progress.”
To me, the absolute worst part of standardized testing is the backlash. The backlash includes the following:
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| wow look at all the reality (image source: blogs.longwood) |
- Students acting out
- Unnecessary yelling
- Teachers complaining that they have lost their class time resulting in too much homework
- Skewed schedules
- Teaching to the tests (but that’s a whole other rant)
In result, my lovely teacher has a brilliant idea: write letters and complaints to present to those testing gods and evil school boards who control us!
As the loving, caring, always willing to help (actually, not true. That statement should be more like: as the stubborn, loud, always willing to use a lot of big words to write a small complain) person I am, I decided to write a letter.
And, as the whole purpose of this letter. I will be sharing the letter with you. Below is my very fun letter that actually only took me like five minutes to write.
Dear Testing Gods;
In the past week, I have taken the English, Math, and Science Galileo testing. For many reasons, I was frustrated with not only the structure surrounding the test, but also the test itself.
Last year, as an eighth grader, I took the SAT and ACT because of qualifications from the ERB standardized testing from the year before, seventh grade. I like to think of myself as a good student, and by extension, tester. For the SAT, I scored above the Utah average and received an eight on the essay. For the ACT, I received a 22. This year, I am enrolled in all AP and Honors classes.
This year, my first year in the Utah public school system, I had to take the Galileo tests. They were horrible. That statement could very well stem from my frustration of a changed bell schedule, resulting in me missing or leaving early from many of my high school classes. But, as I reflect once having completed the tests, the tests itself had many problems.
To start, the questions were worded and structured nothing like the SAT or ACT. This had me doubting the student benefit of taking these tests. I understand many students struggle with test taking anxiety, one of the reasons my parents had me take the tests before I had to as a junior, and I know practice is really the only cure to this anxiety. The Galileo testing is not practice. As an honors student, the tests felt very below my comprehension level. I am not complaining, as there was not adequate time to prepare and frankly, I do not care how I do on these tests. I try my best and check my answers, but beyond that these tests mean nothing to me. My parents also do not care how I perform on these tests.
Additionally, the content is outdated to the current curriculum. In all three tests, I experienced a wide range of complete comprehension to questioning when the content was taught. Specifically, the biology Galileo.
The test did not feel stressful, but I am not confident on how I did. Much of the content on the test has not been taught yet in my Honors Biology class yet. Approximately fifteen questions content I recognized from class this year. Much of the questions, specifically the DNA and genotype questions (which was a vast majority of the questions), I recognized from previous science classes and have a basic familiarity with. A basic familiarity does not make me feel comfortable in my results and knowledge on a midyear test.
I also experienced this in the English and Math tests, but not to the extreme I did in the biology exam.
As an honors student, I do not feel Galileo is worth my time. There are many, more efficient ways to collect student information, which is why we are taking the test according to some teachers.
The stigma around Galileo testing is poor. I often hear that students will not be trying because they do not care, or do not wish to be placed in honors classes. Kids have no respect for the tests and even the smartest students to not put in 110% into the tests. All results are skewed and not an accurate representation of student intelligence.
Thus, leading to the next few weeks of classes being massive review. Teachers assume students do not understand basic concepts because students decided to engage in mindless chatter and childlike behavior during designated test time. This “review” time is unproductive and takes away from actual learning.
To add to this already horrible situation, Treasure Mountain Junior High and and Park City High School are on different bell periods during testing weeks. This is because the high school has elected not to take Galileo testing. Because of this I missed an entire week of math; my parents were very upset. I am also leaving classes early and arriving late because of the bell schedule. The Galileo testing affects other aspects of our school day.
To conclude, I do not feel like Galileo is helping me or my peers in any way. To put it bluntly, it is a waste of time, money, and effort.
Thank you,
-Shaun
If you can’t sense my intense hatred of standardized testing in that letter, I suggest you get your subtext reading glasses checked.
And now I’m checking out (ha!)
Shaun
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