Today is my first day of standardized testing

[General]

Everyone in that room is studying to go to a different college with a different major. Why would going them the same range of academic questions somehow be good for them?

That's why there are different subjects... In every paper, absolutely everything that you are taught in your subject is used in a question.

If they're going to art school they aren't going to need advanced calculus mastery.

This has nothing to do with standardized examining? This has to do with your school being handicapped and not allowing you to choose your own subjects.

But the grade as a whole represents them so failing in one section invalidates the important one.

I kind of agree with you on this, but the older you grow the more specifically you are examined in a subject. Early in your school life you are tested on a broader spectrum in every subject, but this is necessary, if you go on to advance in maths for example, you will use absolutely everything you were taught earlier in your school life and I can 100% guarantee this.

Plus, people are teaching the test. It's become more a stress test of sitting in a room for 6 hours trying to cheat the system rather than a real grade.

Unfortunately this does happen, but like I said the advantages outweigh the disadvantages... Standardization is needed for being able to compare people's performances in a subject as fairly as possible.

[Ad Bot]

[Gojira]

I got a 1660
Does anyone know if that's good?

you're about ten percent above the national average

i'm glad i'm done with standardized testing
it's nice being a senior B)

[Racerboy]

I got a 1660
Does anyone know if that's good?

I got a 1770 twice last year and that was good enough for me lol, was happy with that

bombed the ACT tho, forget that, got like a 25, was pissed

[Narkro555]

-snip-

I know it's judging you on everything they should have presented you, but this is used primarily for college applications. If you test people on something they don't know much about, it ruins their chance to go to a college where their skill matters. We aren't all equal in skill and degrading people and ruining their chances at college because they can't regurgitate facts is a horrible system.

[General]

Dude, when you go to college, you will be using everything you are judged on though? If you go to study something it's kind of like a continuation on everything that you've previously learnt in school for the subject, and everything you have learnt in school for that subject will be used...

All the subjects I'm doing in sixth form (which is like college in UK) are continuations, and I realise that if I didn't know the basics I was taught in previous years I'm as good as a failure in sixth form.

[Narkro555]

Dude, when you go to college, you will be using everything you are judged on though? If you go to study something it's kind of like a continuation on everything that you've previously learnt in school for the subject, and everything you have learnt in school for that subject will be used...

Not where I'm going to college. There is non-major class requirements but they're much less difficult than anything we took on the SAT, and far more relevant too. Only those majoring in a mathematics department are using what they studied for the SAT. You should know how to read and write and think critically and have a solid understanding of science and mathematics applicable to everyday use. But the things on that test are largely non critical to those outside mathematics/science focusing majors.

Plus, what event in real life requires sitting in a classroom for 6 hours? I got a lower grade on the last section of one of my STs not because I was bad at science, but because I was mentally exhausted. There is also such a thing as bad test takers you know. Why should their opportunities be squashed?

[General]

Not where I'm going to college. There is non-major class requirements but they're much less difficult than anything we took on the SAT, and far more relevant too. Only those majoring in a mathematics department are using what they studied for the SAT. You should know how to read and write and think critically and have a solid understanding of science and mathematics applicable to everyday use. But the things on that test are largely non critical to those outside mathematics/science focusing majors.

You'll see what I mean when you get to college... Sure some subjects require more back knowledge than others but they are all difficult, and are not something you can just take the first time and get right without training. Before you can run you need to walk. And the walking is highschool.

Plus, what event in real life requires sitting in a classroom for 6 hours?

Well not so much in a classroom but jobs require sitting for longer hours working so get used to it.

[Narkro555]

I just finished my first year of college and am about to do my second year of a programming summer job. I am not using the more advanced skills they've quizzed me on. I am not being drilled on all subjects in an almost hostile and distrusting environment where socializing means failure.

I am happy to work long hours because I like my job and it's relevant to my skillset. Not to mention there isn't that hostile environment. I get greeted at work, not read strict reasons for firing. I actually took an SAT preparation class and they taught me stress-beating skills, question guessing probability theory, how they grade, and occasionally a full practice.

Standardized testing is very broken and a faulty way of judging potential. It encourages beating the system and takes away from "useless" classes like art, music and PE because those aren't on the test. It just isn't a good thing. It's one reason our education is so awful, despite being a first world country and center of innovation.

[carolcat]

i no longer view questions as "what does this mean" but rather "what do the test makers want me to say"

[SeventhSandwich]

I got a 1660
Does anyone know if that's good?

Depends what school you want to go to.

[#Ravencroft]

what is standardized testing

[Planr]

Standardized testing is very broken and a faulty way of judging potential. It encourages beating the system and takes away from "useless" classes like art, music and PE because those aren't on the test. It just isn't a good thing. It's one reason our education is so awful, despite being a first world country and center of innovation.

This.
Not to mention that for those students who aren't very good at the tests, it hurts their educational and career opportunities for the future.

I think that most jobs today are probably ones where you only use 1% to 20% of what you even learned in high school anyway. My brother is an auditor and he doesn't use anything he learned in high school except for statistics, and even then he can just have the computer do all the math for him.

I just really dislike how America's public school system is today. We have so much abstract high-end white-collar bullcrap shoved down our throats and are barely ever taught anything practical. I think if they actually taught people useful things like how to fix a car, build a structure, and do basic emergency medical stuff that people would enjoy going to school a lot more. I'd personally like to see more blue-collar science classes and financial education classes too.

[SeventhSandwich]

Not to mention that for those students who aren't very good at the tests

'Not very good at tests' is a valid excuse from people who suffer from ADD/ADHD or various anxiety disorders.

However, a lot of people make that excuse who just don't know the material that's on the test. More so than people with valid explanations for lower scores.

We have so much abstract high-end white-collar bullcrap shoved down our throats and are barely ever taught anything practical.

To be fair, high-end white-collar bullcrap (programming, mathematics, science, engineering, etc) will get you a job that won't be taken by robots in 25 years. The 'practical' stuff, not so much (truck driving, factory jobs, farming, etc).

[#Ravencroft]

I think that most jobs today are probably ones where you only use 1% to 20% of what you even learned in high school anyway. My brother is an auditor and he doesn't use anything he learned in high school except for statistics, and even then he can just have the computer do all the math for him.

Exactly, high school is useless unless you're taking advanced classes you know you 100% need for college. I finished highschool with a 71/2.0GPA and never took any type of Physics or Calculus. Now I have a 4.0 cumulative GPA in college and I'm two semesters away from getting my degree in Hydrology/Environmental Engineering.
The only class that I could have taken in HS to help me in college was pre-calculus, which I had to take as a prerequisite for Calculus I. I still would have had to take Physics I and II in college even if I took it in high school, same with Chemistry I and II.

Also the SAT and ACT are loving useless if you're spending your first two years at a community college so don't even take them if that's your plan.

[General]

The worst part is that people in highschool don't even know how relevant the stuff they're taught in their subjects are to the industry or to further education, so they unknowingly just bash everything about it.