Karina Hernandez ‘takes a stand’ on standardized testing

November 22, 2010 • Karina Hernandez, Special to the Dodger  
Filed under Take a Stand: Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor of the Dodger:

Yuck tests!  I totally agree with this article 110 percent! We are told the purpose of taking standardized tests is to see if we learned anything in school.  Although that is what they want to see, it doesn’t turn out like that. Students have to pile up on material the day before that they won’t remember when they graduate: all to get good scores so the school can get funding from the government.

As the end of the course comes, students are crammed with material the teacher taught during class. Sometimes they were taught it and other times they just barely mentioned it. A lot of students usually like a certain part of the course more than other parts; they tend to remember the enjoyable part.  A few days before the test is given, students cram in information which they had erased from their memory. Throughout this whole rememorizing phas,e everyone is stressing and even get frustrated with everything dealing with school. When the test is over, poof, they forget it all over again.

Since the information is not interesting enough to make the students want to learn more and remember it, school feels like a waste of time. I understand a lot of information will be unappealing to some, but having to learn only things that are “testable” is very mind-numbing. We want to learn things that will be beneficial to us in the future. Most of the information we are required to know for the tests really does not help many of us in our future careers.

As I read this article, the author brings out a very true point. I never really thought about what the school gets in return for getting high scores. If the students do score well, the school is rewarded more money and teachers get raises. This does not make any sense. I feel if a school keeps getting low scores, more money should go towards them so they will be able to help the students learn better. A lot of the time, the lower-funded schools are the ones getting low scores. It seems very obvious to me that the big reason is because they do not get enough money to help nourish a better learning environment.

So, in the end, instead of being useful and encouraging, standardized tests are more of a problem. Many students focus on learning material for the tests now than letting it sink in the mind. This stops them from actually learning what they really need to know to ensure their outlook on life. A lot of the issue comes from stress to learn unnecessary information to earn money for the school.

Sincerely,

Karina Hernandez

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