|
|
Post by SpasticChicken on Oct 18, 2004 16:22:52 GMT -5
I dunno if many of you live in NY but we have this stupid things called regents and it's really annoying. It maks me cry when i think about it, i'm s0o serious. I don't think test like this are fair to everybody. i pass my classes with A's all year long(execpt math) and then when this test comes, and i choke. I took my PSAT saturday and i kid you not, i stared into space for a whole section lol i was s0o pissed. I 'm very bad at test. And i don't think it's fair! I mean i take AP and honor classes all year 'round but to most SUNY colleges all they care about is that damn SAT and Regent grades. I have to take the ACT test lol just to make sure i get into college since i'm dumb lol but anyways yeah, just wonderinf if anyone else out there choke up on big test...
|
|
|
|
Post by Scythe on Oct 18, 2004 17:14:54 GMT -5
Did you know that when colleges look at your previous education, even passing the regents exams is the equivalent of almost acing final exams in most other states. I'm a new-yorkian, and I'm actually kinda glad we've got special "harder" tests, cause its more impressive to college people if you pass them.
I was supposed to take the PSAT, but they ran out of test-booklets and I forgot to pay and sign up early, so i was out of luck. No big though...I already took the real one and i was satisfied with my score. the new format they're doing (with the essay and all) is supposed to be more fair, but I think it's less fair because of the more arbitrary grading system. I mean, c'mon, if a person's been grading tests for hours, theyre gonna get tired and grumpy, therefore theyre gonna be more nitpicky and evil than when they were fresh and ready for work in the morning. It's still not really fair. Even the regents have their unfair characteristics...it's a flawed system, but if you can work in it, it could be an advantage. Unless the unfairness of the test causes you to get bad grades...then you have a problem.
What I'm saying is that from a selfish viewpoint, I like NY standardized tests because they benefit me personally because I don't have a problem with them.(read this next bit before you stab me for saying the first part) From a non-selfish point ov view, I really believe that on the whole they are unfair to a lot of people, and should be fixed and/or thrown out.
Like any other issue, there's all sorts of stuff involved, and nothing is really all black and white. (no racial slur intended, its just an expression. You guys probably knew that, but there's no such thing as being too careful when it comes to that sorta stuff ;D)
|
|
|
|
Post by Elfie on Oct 18, 2004 19:29:13 GMT -5
Does anyone elswe worry about teachers finding themselves limited to just "teaching the test"? I think this is a disastrous consequence of standardized tests.
|
|
|
|
Post by SpasticChicken on Oct 18, 2004 20:05:12 GMT -5
*Stabs Scythe* s0o0o now you're a separatist who deson't wanna kill a fetus...shame on you  I think i will like the new SAT my trouble is with math. And the essay will give me posints that i didn't get by leaving things blank lol. s0o Jake, were in NY ya from? j/w( i know everything) plus my almighty friend Alicia told me your name lol [/color]
|
|
|
|
Post by devo2 on Oct 18, 2004 21:54:02 GMT -5
Does anyone elswe worry about teachers finding themselves limited to just "teaching the test". I think this is a disastrous consequence of standardized tests. was that for me? No, I don't find myself teaching to the test, unless it's an AP course, in which case you have to. Most good teachers look at standardized tests as nothing more than a nuisance. It's district administrators that get wood for standardized tests, because the amount of federal and state aid that the school gets often times is linked to test scores (in California it's called the API index). Teachers look at it as a waste of time and something that they have to at some point be responsible for. To be honest, last year I completely blew off 3 of the 11 state standards in World History and did three different things because I thought that they were more important. And I don't think that standardized test accomplish what they intend to do either. The big thing in education now is what's called "authentic assessment" which is a fancy word for letting students demonstrate their knowledge of the subject matter in a variety of ways. I think that standardized tests run upstream of this idea. If what the government wants is an accurate description of what a school can do in terms of quality of education and student retention, then they need to think of something else. All standardized tests do is show which schools have students with good test taking skills and training. I'll give you an example: for my AP course, I spend as much, if not more time on learning how to take the AP test and write essays as I do on the subject matter. I am not teaching history for that class. I am teaching how to pass the AP in U.S. or World History. It is a completely different thing. |
|
|
|
Post by Elfie on Oct 19, 2004 0:23:11 GMT -5
Though that question was not specifically aimed at you, I was hoping to get some feedback from our resident teacher. I know that part of my AP Euro course is going to be devoted to learning how to write DBQ and the like, and I think this is a waste. On the other hand, we would move slower if it were just a "normal" class. I think we should stress the use of Advanced non-standardized classes for those students who want to take them. This allows students with the higher marks to accelerate while not making other students feel like they have to take them. Beyond this, it gives colleges a better feel for what a student can handle, not just in terms of his academic ability, but in terms of taking new initiatives and taking on challenges.
|
|
|
|
Post by devo2 on Oct 19, 2004 0:35:37 GMT -5
where I am there is a screening process for AP courses. Only those that can handle the immense burden (and it is immense) take the course. Believe it or not, in a class like that Elfie, devoting a chunk of time to DBQ and essay writing is absolutely crucial. That alone will add 20% to a teacher's pass rate. It might be a waste for you, but for someone who has never had the opportunity nor the volition to develop social studies writing skills it is of tremendous benefit. Besides, the assumption is that if it is an AP course that it is college-level, and so college-level activities should be part of the program. Essays and DBQs are just that. In fact, in college social studies, that is often times all that they do.
|
|
|
|
Post by Scythe on Oct 19, 2004 11:25:38 GMT -5
*Stabs Scythe* s0o0o now you're a separatist who deson't wanna kill a fetus...shame on you Oh, so now you can "kill" the fetus, even though it's "not life?" ;D Heehee I'm getting inside your head. Nah, I know what you mean. Just picking on you We don't have to open the debate again here. ;D Elfie's point about the exams forcing the teachers to "teach the exam" |
|
|
|
Post by piñata on Oct 19, 2004 11:53:33 GMT -5
Here in Virgina (I know I left out an "i", I did it on purpose) we have Standards of Learning tests. I never had to take them, because the program was implemented two years after I graduated high school, but I've looked into them to see what they are, and it seems to me that they're the closest any American program has come to open communism. It's basically stating that if the kids in a school aren't all exactly the same, then that school is a failure.  At least, that's the way I interpreted it.  And before people jump on me for being a socialist and criticizing communism, allow me to remind you that they have absolutely nothing to do with each other. |
|
|
|
Post by SpasticChicken on Oct 19, 2004 14:21:06 GMT -5
No, I don't find myself teaching to the test, unless it's an AP course, in which case you have to. |
|
Lady Enelya
Tarkaan 
Royal Seeress
shp(o~-8275;; b~0;; i~0;; u~0;; s~1;; a~1;; p~10,29,28,27,26,25,24,23,22,21,20,19,18,17,16,15,11;; )
Posts: 2,406
|
Post by Lady Enelya on Nov 30, 2004 9:38:45 GMT -5
I have soooo many tests this year it's not funny, SATs, LNATs arggh soo many. Next year I'm free, but then there are my uni tests  oh dear god I'll never be free! |
|
I think i will like the new SAT my trouble is with math. And the essay will give me posints that i didn't get by leaving things blank lol. s0o Jake, were in NY ya from? j/w( i know everything) plus my almighty friend Alicia told me your name lol [/color]
