Standardized Testing
What are your opinions on standardized testing?
About a year ago, I saw an article in the paper talking about how a school is switching its grading scale over to purely standardized testing. The easiest way for me to explain this is through the use of an example.
Example. Imagine that you are attending a school that has a grading scale where your work doesn't count. The teacher collects homework but it doesn't count toward your final grade. In fact, your grade depends on one thing. The end of the semester test. You have all IB classes but one. Math. For whatever reason you struggle with math and are in Algebra 2. You have to take a standardized test at the end of the semester that will include topics from Algebra 1 - Calculus 2. This means you only know half the material on the test, and the highest grade you could get is a C (provided you get none right guessing and what not). Is this fair? You have a 4.0 GPA and you want to go to Harvard. They wouldn't even consider accepting you with a C in Algebra 2.
Note- What math class you are in is determined for the most part by tests that you take in 5th grade.
I thought about this a lot when looking at the article. This is how they explained it. I would hope the school would be a little bit more fair when it comes to testing like this. However, consider the pros. You would receive a grade based on what everybody else in the school gets. In other words, the top 10% of the class would be the best and brightest (a.k.a full diploma candidates, full AP, etc.), not kids who get A's in all regular classes.
While this may be an extreme example, consider the ACT. We all take it. Should this be seriously considered when looking at a students admission to college? Many colleges say they look beyond it but how much do you believe that? Some colleges look almost solely at the ACT and your GPA regardless of the rigor of your classes. Very controversial (and stressful!).
I could go on but I think you get the message. What are your feelings on this? I think that this would be the best way to determine top 10% of the class. But, is it worth setting a kid up for failure?
The most likely reason for colleges not looking at the rigor of your coursework is that there are likely many programs and subdivisions of "accelerated" courses that are not globally recognized (IB is global, but not all colleges now of it). The U of M, I know, claims to view the rigor of coursework first, then followed by ACT score and weighted GPA. Plus, if you do well in weighted classes, you can get higher than 4.0 on your weighted GPA, so you do have that advantage over regular students.
ReplyDeleteMoreover, advanced classes prepare students for college, and standard classes less so.
And following your example of the math class, I think that standardized tests for a subject are only standardized within the expected course level. They would not expect you to know calculus. They don't even expect you to know advanced algebra on the ACT. They expect you to take it with a 10th grade education or higher.
Standardized tests are what students love to hate, as they are rather inaccurate at judging a student's value as a whole, but how else are they supposed to judge them?
Valid point. And I don't know how that overall math example worked. I remember reading it in the paper and thinking, 'This is outrageous!' We should judge students by individual interview! That wouldn't take long at all...
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