Essay No 155: Diagnostic Assessment In Support Of Student Learning

Power: the political power is the ability to shape and control the political behavior of

Often time power can be understood as control of material resources and wealth, control of politics and the institutions that make up society (Hutchison,2015). It is important to recognize and identify the core concepts of power or lack of power with individuals in society. The conflict theory allows examination within the text of those who hold power and lack power. The end result of power to hold dominance over another person, group, or society. As a result of the control and power is causes those who lack power to be devalued or alienated from a setting or even society (Hutchinson, 2015).

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of the Classroom Diagnostic Tool (CDT) as a predictor of student performance on the Keystone exam in algebra. There were two guiding questions that lead this research. The first was: To what extent, if any, does the CDT predict student performance on the Algebra Keystone exam of those who are enrolled in a Keystone algebra course? The second question was: To what extent, if any, does the CDT predict student performance in eligible content categories (i.e. numbers and operations, geometry, algebra etc.) when considered independently of the overall scaled score?

Some theorists believe that ‘power is everywhere: not because it embraces everything, but because it comes from everywhere… power is not an institution, nor a structure, nor possession. It is the name we give to a complex strategic situation in a particular society. (Foucault, 1990: 93) This is because power is present in each individual and in every relationship. It is defined as the ability of a group to get another group to take some form of desired action, usually by consensual power and sometimes by force. (Holmes, Hughes &Julian, 2007) There have been a number of differing views on ‘power over’ the many years in which it has been studied. Theorist such as Anthony Gidden in his works on structuration theory attempts to integrate basic

People’s identities are formed by what they hold valuable, at a young age, however, those value can be greatly influenced by his/her surrounding society. In all three essays, Cathy Davidson, “Project Classroom Makeover”, Karen Ho, “Biographies of Hegemony” and Susan Faludi, “The Naked Citadel” the authors share their personal experiences with how different educational institutions operate and to what extent they value and echo their surrounding society. It is evident that those institutions can shape, or in the least influence, their attendees' identities by injecting the surrounding society's belief and influence onto them.

Modern day power originates from the mind in that we give certain figures power based upon man-made forms of value or worth like money. The definition of power has fluctuated throughout time, and while the past may have emphasized the more violent aspects, today, we have shifted towards a more control based interpretation. Both Michael Foucault and John Berger delve into the idea of power and its functionality. Based on their texts, in our current socio-cultural setting, power is best exploited when the concept behind the power is deindividualized for many purposes, internalized by the people, and integrated throughout society to the point that its origins is mystified.

Power and corruption are concepts that are difficult to fully understand. Several controversies occur within these topics. There are both conventional and unconventional ways of viewing power. In an attempt to make a claim contrary to common belief, David Brin stated, “It is said that power corrupts, but actually it’s more true that power attracts the corruptible.” This statement is not accurate because power is the corrupting device responsible for a plethora of downfalls leaders have experienced.

Standardized testing has been around since the mid 1800’s. Even though testing has been around for a long time it is still debated whether or not it should precisely “score” students. Students have been subjected to standardized tests frequently through their years in school due to laws which have been passed by Congress. Decisions about the evaluation of schools and students are recurrently made by government authority and are often not in the best interest of teachers, students, or their classroom environments.

The quantity of power "impact[s] how we know our- selves as subjects through these systems of meaning and control- the ways we understand our own bodies, the things we believe about ourselves and our relationships with other people and with institutions, and the ways we imagine change and transformation" (Spade, 6). The amount of power one obtains indicates to themselves, and to others, how much control and worth they have within society. It also influences how situations are interpreted, formation of personal beliefs, and

Lord Acton once said, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Examples of power going corrupt can be found everywhere, from book to television shows to real life. In his article, “How Power Corrupts,” Ronald Riggo explains that there are two types of power, socialized and personalized. He further elaborates that a balance of both is healthy for a ruler to have, but it becomes a problem when personalized power overwhelms social power. Personalized power is defined as power that is used for one's personal gain.

A Syllabus contains a list of three important topics: education in class, rules and homework (extra credit, etc.) Education in a class will be clarified on what we (the students) will be learning such as grammar, essay writing and/or typing and reading stories to learn lessons from different genres. Syllabus will also contain a list of rules between the teacher and students (sometimes parents). Rules can be about what the students aren’t supposed to do and can be the other way around. Homework and classwork are most of the time mentioned in all syllabuses and have some really important details about how much the assignments are worth. For example; For a successful grade, you must pass and complete %50 assessments, %40 classwork and %10 homework. I believe these three topics make a complete syllabus for the clarifying education in class, rules and homework.

Power and politics have always been around but seldom openly discussed. Power is learned at an early age through family and schools. Ordinary people such as scholars hesitate to talk about power. It is often equated with force brutality, unethical behavior, manipulation, connivance, and subjugation.

This essay will aim to assess the key perspectives on power and domination by evaluating research and studies done by prominent sociologist within the field of power and domination. I shall start by defining what power actually is within the realm of politics. Power and domination have an important relationship in the social relations of modern society (p.11). Stewart (2005) cited Parsons (1967) on the definition power, where he defines power as a comprehensive capacity to secure the performance of binding obligations by units in an organisation where the obligations are legitimised and they share the same goals and there is presumption of enforcement by an individual. That is power is achieved when there is control by an individual over his or her subordinates and used as a tool to be used to achieve collective goals. Another important definition of power is by prolific sociologist Max Weber as he defined power as the chance of men to realise their own will in a communal action even against the resistance of other who are participation in the action (p.522 sociology themes and perspectives). So in other words weber defines power as the ability for one to get his/her own way even if everyone around you if opposed to your ideas and goals. So to achieve power one must make it happen through means of resistance from people opposed to you in order to have the ability to control people around you. Another notable sociologist Anthony Giddens suggests that the study of power is a

Power is defined as a political action coerced to exercise or to pursuit. It influences and controls the content of political power. The theory of power is argued by Niccolo Machiavelli, Hannah Arendt, and Karl Emil (Max) Weber. Machiavelli’s position stood that power is held by individuals. As for Arendt, she believed power was maintained within groups, while Weber believed power lied in institutions.

Education is an important structure in society that shapes the most important years of your life, and therefore many theorists have ideas about what is wrong with education, what is right, and what needs to change or develop. Education is confined a lot by social control and social reproduction. Social control is a concept that refers to how social systems control the way we feel, think, behave, and even how we should present ourselves. These can appear openly, shown as rules and laws, or they could be not openly acknowledged and just appear as the “common” thing to do. Social reproduction is the reproduction of inequalities throughout generation-to-generation, one way education does this is how it supplies “wealthy” schools more and “poor” schools less. Michael Apple and Maxine Greene both define Social reproductions and Social Control. Throughout this text, I will explain the theories of Greene and Apple, as well as comparing and contrasting them against one another while applying some of my own experiences of education.