A Fifteen-Year-Old’s Perspective on Testing
Here I am, it is 12:20 in the morning on January 13th 2011, and I am doing homework. Today was a snow day, and I, instead of staying home and doing homework all day, made the somewhat irresponsible decision of going out to my friend's house and having a snowball fight and making a snowman and laughing the whole day away. And now I am mad at myself for it. But, before I fall into such a pit of self loathing, I have to ask myself, why? Why is it so dreadfully important that I, a social fifteen-year-old, stay home out of the beautiful snowy weather and study? And at what point did I become so deeply involved in school that I would be so disappointed in myself for something that we should really all do a lot more of?
Ready, teachers? I am going to give you the key to every one of your student's minds: Tests=Stress. Stress=A poisonous learning environment. And no one can actually learn in a poisonous learning environment.
The other day, I was talking to a friend of mine, Dean, who does extremely well in school, especially in science. I was talking to him about taking Biology, which I am very excited for, because my current required science class, Chemistry, doesn't interest me. Dean has already taken Bio and said it was a great class, but it was hard. Now you have to understand a class being described as 'hard' for Dean is something almost unheard of. So, of course I asked him why. And he said this: "Biology is hard, because the teacher is tough. She actually makes you link what you learned to a concept. It's not just spitting out information."
That was word for word. Now, what does it say when one of the 'smartest' (and by that I mean he has a 4.0) kids in the school has trouble in a class where you actually need to think?
We kids learn all the time. Really we do, even those kids in school who are pegged as 'druggies' or 'losers' will learn, no matter how hard they try not to. Today, I learned more socially than I could have if I had studied all day. There was a conflict with another one of my friends that came over, and we sorted it out and I learned from it, but that of course will not show on my AP world history test tomorrow. And my dream college that I'll apply to will never know what an innovative thinker I am if they take one look at my SAT scores and then begin to print my rejection letter. This appears to be some sort of huge mistake, how can we possibly believe that this is truly beneficial to learning?
I am not complaining in the least; I am simply trying to think it over. So here is my extremely open-ended question to you: How do you believe tests are beneficial to learning?
This is so interesting to me, because here I am, just halfway through high school and I find myself extremely stressed out. But if the tests really are helping, I guess the stress would be worth it, right?
Please take a look at this great little video I found below, which I find so interesting and give me your thoughts on testing!
Hey, Kid! Listen up! A video on high stakes tests (embedded below)
-Claire
Posted in Philosophy of EducationStudents on Jan 13, 2011 - 12:18 AM
Hello Everyone!Here I am, it is 12:20 in the morning on January 13th 2011, and I am doing homework. Today was a snow day, and I, instead of staying home and doing homework all day, made the somewhat irresponsible decision of going out to my friend's house and having a snowball fight and making a snowman and laughing the whole day away. And now I am mad at myself for it. But, before I fall into such a pit of self loathing, I have to ask myself, why? Why is it so dreadfully important that I, a social fifteen-year-old, stay home out of the beautiful snowy weather and study? And at what point did I become so deeply involved in school that I would be so disappointed in myself for something that we should really all do a lot more of?
Ready, teachers? I am going to give you the key to every one of your student's minds: Tests=Stress. Stress=A poisonous learning environment. And no one can actually learn in a poisonous learning environment.
The other day, I was talking to a friend of mine, Dean, who does extremely well in school, especially in science. I was talking to him about taking Biology, which I am very excited for, because my current required science class, Chemistry, doesn't interest me. Dean has already taken Bio and said it was a great class, but it was hard. Now you have to understand a class being described as 'hard' for Dean is something almost unheard of. So, of course I asked him why. And he said this: "Biology is hard, because the teacher is tough. She actually makes you link what you learned to a concept. It's not just spitting out information."
That was word for word. Now, what does it say when one of the 'smartest' (and by that I mean he has a 4.0) kids in the school has trouble in a class where you actually need to think?
We kids learn all the time. Really we do, even those kids in school who are pegged as 'druggies' or 'losers' will learn, no matter how hard they try not to. Today, I learned more socially than I could have if I had studied all day. There was a conflict with another one of my friends that came over, and we sorted it out and I learned from it, but that of course will not show on my AP world history test tomorrow. And my dream college that I'll apply to will never know what an innovative thinker I am if they take one look at my SAT scores and then begin to print my rejection letter. This appears to be some sort of huge mistake, how can we possibly believe that this is truly beneficial to learning?
I am not complaining in the least; I am simply trying to think it over. So here is my extremely open-ended question to you: How do you believe tests are beneficial to learning?
This is so interesting to me, because here I am, just halfway through high school and I find myself extremely stressed out. But if the tests really are helping, I guess the stress would be worth it, right?
Please take a look at this great little video I found below, which I find so interesting and give me your thoughts on testing!
Hey, Kid! Listen up! A video on high stakes tests (embedded below)
-Claire
Tags for this entry:
grades,
testing,
standardized tests,
student-teacher roles,
stress,
homework,
student rights,
intelligence,
student inquiry,
inspiration to improve
Claire Russell
Jan 14, 2011 - 12:31 AM
Hey Alice!
Thanks so much for your response, and really quite great ideas. Every trimester, we are required to take a standardized test called an NWEA. This is a series of three tests, each about three hours long, and coming this February I have made the conscious decision not to take them. Or rather to refuse to take them. That is nine hours all together of my time that should be spent learning, and quite honestly I am sick of it.
Gosh, another, more alternative high school would be great! But right now the circumstances are such that I need to be home because I am training a Guiding Eyes for the blind dog named Lucas (who you can also read about on PULSE, that’s a really cool experience and something I would SO much rather be doing) But next fall I am hoping, if all goes well to do a semester abroad in the Bahamas at an ecological alternative school from August 29th-December 9th which I am so excited to experience! If you get a chance check out the site on the Island School, it’s a really awesome ‘experienced based learning’ curriculum among other things.
I have come to my patience’s end with testing. I desperately need to get back to my Waldorf-Inspired roots. The NWEA’s are not education to me. And the moment when I start to believe they are, is when I need to make change.
Such cool website links! Thanks so much, that’s the great thing about IDEA it’s so awesome knowing other people like me deal with the same issues,
I really appreciate your advice, and I am going to follow it,
Claire
http://www.islandschool.org/