People in poorer communities tend to face harder obstacles like a bad home life, hard economic times, and influences that push dropping out of school. These students also have to deal with old, out-of-date school supplies like textbooks-even their teachers tend to not be as qualified as teachers in wealthier school districts. Furthermore, due to standardized testing, teachers in these poorer school districts tend to teach to the test by teaching with the drill-and-kill method where kids are being taught by memorizing certain multiple choice questions and answers (Neill 29-35). Surprisingly, high-stakes test like promotion tests are the main contributors to retention of students- most of which have learning disabilities. Retention, though, has proved to not help students academically.
Roxana Useda ENC 1101 Professor Cash November 30, 2012 Why Trust the FCAT? Have you ever felt when taking the FCAT you are wasting your time? Over the years students have been required to take a test that will evaluate them on how well they do. The FCAT is given to obtain an insight on how much students are learning on three main subjects, science, reading, and math every year. Despite the benefits teachers and schools obtain, standardized testing like the FCAT is not effective in evaluating student’s performance because not all students learn at the same level, they fall under pressure, and they are being taught just for the test which prevents from learning skills that are yet to be learned.
This whole cut and dry teaching, what is wrong and what is right in education. But is this to say we are “dumbing down education” to meet standard test and better scores and rankings. The slang expression of “dumbing down” describes the deliberate diminishment of the intellectual level of the content of literature, film, schooling and education, news, and other aspects of culture. I believe that there are many factors why Americans rankings are so low. Education has dumbed down but there are so many different aspects of the situation, fingers pointed on why this has happened.
Common Core State Standards ENG 103 English Composition II Professor Nikkele Shelton October 5, 2014 Common core state standards are a set of uniform expectations for American students in English language arts and mathematics that many feel are not in the best interest the teachers and students. Several people, including teachers and other experts, think that starting these standards too soon in detrimental in children’s learning process. Even though there is information provided that shows some good things about Common Core State Standards, the following information will provide information to support that the decision of Common Core State Standards are not as good as those that developed them had originally thought. Common core
the time, money, and energy the NEA puts into issues like same sex marriage, abortions, homosexuality, womens rights, etctra, is excessive when we have students graduating who have great difficult with reading or struggle with basic math skills. the NEA's powerful hold on education today leaves them mostly responsible for the holes we have in our education. it is not only the faulty curriculum, but most importantly the failing teachers who the NEA hides, defends, supports, and so on; sticking by their constant cry of not enough pay, however is that an excuse to pass students who should have been held back years ago? the most disturbing problem with the NEA is when they brag about the success of their million dollar programs that are supposed to increase reading and writing skills, math skills, and overall education; the issue occurs when barely a quarter of students show positive results. how can anyone boast and petition funds for programs that are not
There are valid reasons to think that raising content standards is the answer, and there are equally valid concerns about the practice, and some evidence that it may actually be harmful to student progress. As educators, I believe it is our duty to research these ideas fully and make sure that our teaching practices both follow the law and reflect our beliefs about how to best educate the our students. Works Cited CCSSO & NGACenter, (Council of Chief State School Officers & National Governors Association Center for Best Practices) (2015, January 11). About the Standards. Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/: http://www.corestandards.org/about-the-standards/ Core Knowledge.
Erica Goldson Valedictorian Speech Response Erica Goldson brought up a very controversial and very interesting topic about our current education system in the US. She states that students are so focused at memorizing data and getting good grades, that they miss out on the whole idea of learning and being educated. I agree with her, students should be learning and absorbing the material, instead of memorizing for the next big test and just forgetting about it later on. Graduating seems like the top priority in students nowadays, and to me that is just upsetting. And the students who are very talented and are very motivated to learn and be driven in a non-academic subject seem to have a more negative image than the people who are driven by academics.
In the end, she warns that the outcome will produce students who are not able to comprehend complex knowledge and schools that limit history, science, the arts, civics, and many other components of the curriculum that provide college preparatory instruction. Ravitch notes that the United States, compared to other nations, is not following a model that will produce effective change. She explained, “High-performing nations make sure that students have access to a rich and balanced curriculum, not just a steady diet of test preparation and testing” (p.
My youngest daughter, Grace, since the start of her academic career, has struggled with both reading and mathematics. Having qualified for learning disabilities, she struggles every day with comprehension of basic math concepts but she does have other strengths that are overlooked because mathematics and language are the subjects that are important for schools to have their children master. According to college professor Wanda Hendrick, “the pressure to increase the importance of test scores has had negative effects on the curriculum of the schools. Instead of learning, an overwhelming focus on reading and mathematics suppress student and teacher creativity, problem solving, and the decline in science, music, and art activities.” (Hendrick). There are many ways to measure a child’s progress in school, but the one size fits all methods of standardized testing does not work effectively.
Standardized Testing The efficiency of standardized testing has been a much debated topic in the realms of Texas education. While it has been argued that standardized testing provides a fair and objective measurement of student achievement, evidence proves that the tests can be unreliable, discriminatory, and ineffective. The universal nature of the tests are designed to set a general standard for all students, however, this general standard is difficult to apply, considering that students come from varied backgrounds and skill levels. A change in this system should be considered in order to ensure the maximum quality of our education program. One reason why standardized testing should be reconsidered is that they have not improved overall student achievement.