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]]> By: nathan http://orra.wordpress.com/2007/03/01/more-trouble-with-testing/#comment-20 nathan Mon, 26 Mar 2007 18:09:21 +0000 http://orra.wordpress.com/2007/03/01/more-trouble-with-testing/#comment-20 I definitely agree that there "doesn't really seem to be anything positive to say about standardized testing." There was a link on Nick Smith's post to another article</a> by Jeremiah Vandermeer, called "Unschooling" which discussed unschooling, and really tried to answer the question of what standarized education/testing actually accomplishes. I found this quote by John Taylor Gatto, "In your entire lifetime of buying and renting services and negotiating contracts," Gatto asked, "have you ever even thought of asking a person what their standardized test score or their grade point average was? Because with the stress and drum beating that you hear across Canada and across the United States and other places, you would assume that you wouldn't go to an auto mechanic without asking him what his score was in mechanic school. Wouldn't you be a fool not to have that information if, in fact, it were information? Wouldn't you want to ask your barber what his grade was in barber school, let alone your lawyer, your physician, your architect? "The very fact that universally nobody asks for these things is all you need to know that the information is worthless. It's worthless … No, I take that back. It's extremely valuable in showing whether a person is obedient, because the only way you do well on those tests is by memorizing the dots you're told to memorize. You're never asked to connect the dots." Very interesting... What exactly are we trying to do by placing so much emphasis on stansardized testing? Is it really as sinister as Gatto suggests? Very thought-provoking post... ~Nathan I definitely agree that there “doesn’t really seem to be anything positive to say about standardized testing.” There was a link on Nick Smith’s post to another article by Jeremiah Vandermeer, called “Unschooling” which discussed unschooling, and really tried to answer the question of what standarized education/testing actually accomplishes. I found this quote by John Taylor Gatto,
“In your entire lifetime of buying and renting services and negotiating contracts,” Gatto asked, “have you ever even thought of asking a person what their standardized test score or their grade point average was? Because with the stress and drum beating that you hear across Canada and across the United States and other places, you would assume that you wouldn’t go to an auto mechanic without asking him what his score was in mechanic school. Wouldn’t you be a fool not to have that information if, in fact, it were information? Wouldn’t you want to ask your barber what his grade was in barber school, let alone your lawyer, your physician, your architect?
“The very fact that universally nobody asks for these things is all you need to know that the information is worthless. It’s worthless … No, I take that back. It’s extremely valuable in showing whether a person is obedient, because the only way you do well on those tests is by memorizing the dots you’re told to memorize. You’re never asked to connect the dots.”

Very interesting… What exactly are we trying to do by placing so much emphasis on stansardized testing? Is it really as sinister as Gatto suggests? Very thought-provoking post…
~Nathan

]]> By: eboileau http://orra.wordpress.com/2007/03/01/more-trouble-with-testing/#comment-15 eboileau Sat, 10 Mar 2007 04:42:46 +0000 http://orra.wordpress.com/2007/03/01/more-trouble-with-testing/#comment-15 I've been following the subject of standardized testing as well, and I think you and I have a similar problem. There doesn't really seem to be anything positive to say about standardized testing. I like the article you found, or the blog you found by a teacher who's writing on the subject. It's good to have an opinion that isn't as bogged down in the politics as the media can be. She makes a good point about her students. Standardized testing doesn't fairly represent a students academic ability, understanding, or knowledge. The El Salvadorian boy is a great example of this too. It seems foolish to test all students in exactly the same manner just for the sake of ease and standardization just for government regulation purposes and college admissions. If governments want to know if a school is improving, they need to observe them first hand, and if colleges really want to know if their applicants are of the right caliber, they should look at more than just test scores and GPA. Of course, this isn't the world we live in yet, and it doesn't seem economically possible, but it is something to aim for. I’ve been following the subject of standardized testing as well, and I think you and I have a similar problem. There doesn’t really seem to be anything positive to say about standardized testing.

I like the article you found, or the blog you found by a teacher who’s writing on the subject. It’s good to have an opinion that isn’t as bogged down in the politics as the media can be. She makes a good point about her students. Standardized testing doesn’t fairly represent a students academic ability, understanding, or knowledge. The El Salvadorian boy is a great example of this too.

It seems foolish to test all students in exactly the same manner just for the sake of ease and standardization just for government regulation purposes and college admissions. If governments want to know if a school is improving, they need to observe them first hand, and if colleges really want to know if their applicants are of the right caliber, they should look at more than just test scores and GPA. Of course, this isn’t the world we live in yet, and it doesn’t seem economically possible, but it is something to aim for.

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