Jordan Herman Research Paper

Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he is fed for a lifetime. In today’s society, education is very similar to this statement. Schools are commanded to teach aspects of life that only benefit the student for an end-of-the-year test. Students are not taught what is to come in the life after school. Because of the poor quality in education today, the emphasis on standardized test has become overwhelming.

Henry L. Roediger III believes that “testing as part of an educational routine provides an important tool not just to measure learning, but to promote it” (Roediger pg. 1). If we stop forcing students to shove information down

In October 1774, at the First Continental Congress, Joseph Galloway pleaded to his fellow countrymen for unity between the “mother country” and America, but his impressive life within the American system was not enough to break the strong urge for independence. Galloway had chosen to be a loyalist but when he did he was declaring his home as his opposition. Joseph Galloway was a true American that had the potential to play a large part in the future democracy due to his past as a lawyer, as an elected official, and a close relationship with Benjamin Franklin, which were all shown through his appearances in Philadelphia’s Supreme Court, his elected position as Speaker in a provincial assembly, and his correspondence with Franklin. Galloway experienced success while performing his duties in the several different positions he held, but his life in America was not enough to persuade him of America’s power or how influential he could have been in America’s future. His decline in power came after his “Plan of Union” in the First Continental Congress fell short by one vote, and this led him

Standardized testing has diminished the true intention of schooling, for it “deliberately orchestrate[s] [an] assault on public education” (Ravitch 106). In an ideal world, students would look forward to receiving a diverse education; however, the current craze on standardized testing does not allow anything close to learning diversities. During a budget cut, a school’s first thought is to reduce “the non tested subject[s]”, which means everything besides math and reading (Ravitch 106). State required tests target the mathematic and reading subjects intensely; therefore, why should one teach anything else? “[F]ederal policies value only test scores”, hence the enthusiasm of schooling institutions

Although legislatives assumption was that high stakes testing would enhance understudy inspiration, and raise understudy accomplishment, that supposition was completely incorrect. The effect of standardized testing (high-stakes testing) has not been positive throughout the United States at all. Due to the lack of motivation, the high retention rate, and notable change in dropout rate, it may be a while until many states recover, especially for states like Louisiana. According to Nola, Louisiana is tied with Florida for having one of the country’s fifth lowest graduation rates, and one of the highest dropout rates. Our society needs to come together and think of a plan that will help students, and prevent the increasing number of kids who decide to give up on school. A system that will benefit both students, and teachers should be created; making it better for both, students and teachers to work together properly. With a new system student motivation may improve, the number of over aged students sitting in the wrong grade will decrease, and the notable dropout rate will actually

The author's main point in this article was focusing on the problems of standardized testing in the school system. Ronald Roach states how in the past decade since the no child left behind program was established that there was no sufficient gains in the overall student math and reading scores. The author then goes on to explain how the Obama administration has been criticized over the issues of no child left behind program and how they are not effectively improving the program.

Michaelle Jean is a Catholic who was born on September 6, 1957, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. This year she is 59 years old. In her early life, she lived a middle-class life. Her parents decided not to let her go to school because she would have to swear under the dictator, François "Papa Doc" Duvalier. Instead, Michaelle was home-schooled. Her father got tortured, so he fled to Thetford Mines, Quebec in 1967, and the following year, Michaelle and the rest of her family joined. The family eventually separated because her father became violent. Michaelle left with her mother and sister to go to Montreal. She received a bachelor's degree in Italian and Spanish at the Université de Montréal. She received many scholarships to let to make trips to Italy to study at the Perugia, Florence, and Milan universities. She knew how to speak five languages and worked for shelters for abused women. She married a Canadian filmmaker, Jean-Daniel Lafond, and adopted Marie-Éden from Jacmel.

The use of standardized examinations have long been debated in American society. In fact, the last several years have seen an immense shift from the prioritization of standardized testing to more holistic measurements of student achievement. Despite this shift, many school districts across the nation and college/university entrance requirements still place a significant, if not pivotal, emphasis on test-taking and standardized exam results. Throughout this paper, I will explore 1) the history of standardized testing, 2) arguments for and against its practice, as well as 3) situate the consequences of its use in one of the three philosophical goals of schooling. All of this will subsequently paint an investigation into the purpose of schooling in American society.

On May 24, 1888, Ben Hagen Jr. and Millie Pinkston-Hagen gave birth to Ida in Huntingburg, Indiana (Backer 1). Although they had Ida in Huntingburg, the Hagen family did not live in the Pinkston Settlement; Ben owned land near the Pinkston farm, just not on the property. Though an active farmer, Ben Hagen also practiced ministry at the Missionary Baptist Church. He continued farming and preaching even after the majority of the other settlers had diminished. (Taylor 1) Ida’s father went on to serve as a member of the 100th United States Colored Infantry in the Civil War (Hackman 2). Ida’s mother, Millie Pinkston, was the daughter of Emmanuel Pinkston Jr. and his second wife, Anna Eberhart (Hackman 1). Because of this connection with the settlement,

I would like to respond to the follow-up inquiry on behalf of Congressman Kennedy’s constituent John Hermans, received 27 June 2016, which is based on the original inquiry by Holly Hermans, dated 16 May 2016 with regards to her son Private John Hermans, who is assigned to Tango Company, 266th Quartermaster Battalion, 23rd Quartermaster Brigade at Fort Lee, Virginia.

The 1980s brought a new reform movement in education, accompanied by a new emphasis on testing. The effort to improve education at all levels included the use of standardized tests to provide accountability for what students are learning. Minimum competency tests, achievement tests, and screening instruments were used to ensure that students from preschool through college reached the desired educational goals and achieved the minimum standards of education that were established locally or by the state education agency. As we continue in a new century, these concerns have increased.

Today, it can be observed that society has shifted education drastically from the time schools were constituted, to now. Throughout history, schools have gone from private, where only the elite can attend, to public schools where virtually anyone can attend. One of the factors that goes along with education is standardized testing. Frederick J. Kelly, father of the standardized test, once said, “These tests are too crude to be used, and should be abandoned.” Not only has this shift occurred within education itself, but it has occurred within the testing concepts found within standardized testing so much so that the founder of these tests has chosen to give up on it.

“Our educational goal [is] the production of caring, competent, loving, lovable people” . The students found in the schools across the United State are the future of America. They are the doctors, teachers, business people, lawyers and many other roles, that will be out in the workforce in the years to come. What they learn in school will impact them immensely; it is the responsibility of a teacher to give students the best education in order to ensure the common good of the future. It is essential for students to not only learn content matter, but also the skills to enable them to participate in a democracy. Due to standardized testing, the emphasis of education has become on score and rankings rather than learning. A standardized test does not look at the whole student, the scores provided are on a very narrow aspect of education. In the classroom, there are countless ways for teachers to assess the student as a whole person not as just a score. Standardized tests scores should not be the sole criteria for determining a student’s academic achievement.

Although testing has been around for a long time, I instinctively believe that testing doesn’t give a clear picture of student’s achievement. Thus, I make strong connection to the following quote: “A central question has been whether accountability policies and standardized testing helping or harming those children the polices are most often designed to serve” (Skrla, p.11). For instance, when I analyzed and interpreted the TAPR of Richard J Wilson Elementary school, I found valuable information that all teachers should know at the beginning of every school year. Specifically, when I examined the categories of testing and the students’ performance on individual TEKS. This practice would allow teachers to have a clear picture of what exact skills and content knowledge students are expected to achieve throughout the school year.

Currently, instructors are pressured by state education department to adjust school curricula to meet the expectations of the standardized test. Educators alter the curriculum to “match the [standardized] test” (“How Standardized”). Therefore, instructors are limited and classroom instruction is focused around test preparation for the annual standardized test. Teachers are forced to abandon their creative lessons and “teach the test,” or concentrating only on the material that will be evaluated (“How Standardized”). This frequently involves taking multiple choice tests that are formatted identically to the standardized test and only memorizing facts, formulas, and items included only on the standardized tests (“How Standardized”). Even though test scores may improve, students are not learning how to think critically and perform better in other subjects that are not on the test (“How Standardized”). Instructional time is limited in the other subject areas such as science, social studies, music, and art. Instructors feel “handicapped” and plead to state officials abandon these standardized tests for the sake of the “quality of the instruction in American schools” (Zimmerman 206). School curricula are being modified only to prepare students for a single test, not for education the students need in the future.