Required Standardized State Testing of Students [Bongfu vs. Viking Prince] Commentary Thread

[Viking Prince]

Please post comments on the debate:
Required Standardized State Testing of Students [Bongfu vs. Viking Prince]

[Manoflooks]

You have standardized tests in elementary school? Wow. In Canada we dont have ministry exams until high school, except for some really small easy things in grade 4 and 7.

Very good intro.

[Bongfu]

You have standardized tests in elementary school? Wow. In Canada we dont have ministry exams until high school, except for some really small easy things in grade 4 and 7.

Very good intro.

Yeah you take the same test starting in the third grade every year until your junior year, where you take exit level exams. If you dont pass it, you dont move on to the next grade

[★Bandiera Rossa☭]

Sorry Viking but I have to go against you on this one. I think that schools are way to score oriented and do not care enough about actually teaching people.

[Caduet]

I luv TAKS days. I have since the 3rd grade. I love how the faculty makes such an uproar over
it (I remember we used to have "pep rallies" and pizza parties to psych us up). I love taking an
incredibly easy test and sleeping for the rest of the day. I love writing really wierd and offensive essays, and still getting top scores because the bar is set so low. I also like how the teachers have to read, word-for-word, the instructions from their booklets, and how they actually follow those dumb rules (except for when they don't follow those rules and I end up having several talks with the principal, counsellor, and school liason officer). Nowadays, I like not having to even bother showing up for TAKS as I am in 12th grade. I will not suffer the TAKS bad-mouthed.
Although, you can fail the exit-level exams and still go on to 12th grade- you just have to take them again (and you have to suffer the onus of being a real dumbass).

Bongfu, after reading your posts, I noticed several strange similarities between us. We both live in Texas (not all that strange, I suppose), we both like Sideways Stories from Wayside School (again, not that wierd as those were damn fine novels, and Louis Sachar is god amongst children's books writers), and we both took or, (in my case) are taking, Latin and German! Wow!

[Bongfu]

I luv TAKS days. I have since the 3rd grade. I love how the faculty makes such an uproar over
it (I remember we used to have "pep rallies" and pizza parties to psych us up). I love taking an
incredibly easy test and sleeping for the rest of the day. I love writing really wierd and offensive essays, and still getting top scores because the bar is set so low. I also like how the teachers have to read, word-for-word, the instructions from their booklets, and how they actually follow those dumb rules (except for when they don't follow those rules and I end up having several talks with the principal, counsellor, and school liason officer). Nowadays, I like not having to even bother showing up for TAKS as I am in 12th grade. I will not suffer the TAKS bad-mouthed.
Although, you can fail the exit-level exams and still go on to 12th grade- you just have to take them again (and you have to suffer the onus of being a real dumbass).

Bongfu, after reading your posts, I noticed several strange similarities between us. We both live in Texas (not all that strange, I suppose), we both like Sideways Stories from Wayside School (again, not that wierd as those were damn fine novels, and Louis Sachar is god amongst children's books writers), and we both took or, (in my case) are taking, Latin and German! Wow!

Well our differences obviously lie in our expectation of schooling. I was always taught to challenge myself in all I did, because those who took the easy rout never got ahead in life (I know, taking the easy rout does have its advantages, but America does it too much). So I just expected more out of the test I was given in Texas.

[Viking Prince]

The debate is now completed. I thank Bongfu for the chance to express my thoughts on why standardzed testing has value. People may misuse any tool, but why does it seem that tools in the hands of government employees seem to get misused more than those in NGO and private for-profit company hands? Hmmmm???