NY Times article about lack of readiness for college

[T50_Omaha8]

[ QUOTE ]
That said, perhaps standardization could be done that tests abstract, critical thinking. I am not necessarily against standardization itself, though I do think it suboptimal. However, I am wholeheartedly against the way it is being implemented. I think the system could be tweaked in ways that would make teaching to the test virtually impossible.

[/ QUOTE ] The racial sensitivity nuts wouldn't like this at all. Teaching to the test makes the 'standard deviation,' as you call it, appear to be a good deal lower, which helps really abominable schools not look quite so bad. One this tweaking occurs, grades will plummet for poor, disproportionately black schools, and PC activists will throw up the racist-test flag.

Also most people in power have no interest in revealing how bad the problem truly is.

[MrMon]

I don't think standardized tests to test for abstract thinking on a widespread basis are really practical, nor are they truly possible. A test for that really can't be accurately tested by multiple choice test. And essay testing really is difficult to grade consistently on a mass basis. So that type of testing is best left to a classroom teacher.

I think most people misunderstand the idea behind standardized testing, including much of the teaching community. It measures one aspect of learning well, basic factual knowledge. But that's not where knowledge ends, rather, it's where it begins, so what the standardized tests are doing is providing a floor, one that says you need to know these things AT A MINIMUM.

All this talk about kids needing to learn how to think critically and abstractly, that's great, but the kids need to know something to think about before they do that. (Technically, that's not correct, as my education profs will tell you, but I'm simplifying.) Too many teachers think that if they teach to the test and they do well, the kids know all they need to know, which is definitely not true. But you aren't going to get very far teaching them how to think critically with a brain full of mush. Give me a kids full of facts who can just recite them, I can teach him to think critically. Give me an abstract thinker who knows no facts, and you probably have a child who has gotten a high grade point, but knows nothing and resents it when you tell them so.

Ideally, you need to teach all kinds of thinking simultaneously, but too many teachers leave out the hard stuff for the fun, abstract thinking. Those teachers do a disservice to their students, but it's a widespread practice, as it's all the rage in the ed schools. Standarized testing had to be implemented because the disservice became so widespread, it was obvious the kids were learning nothing.

[Misfire]

You're making a mistake assuming that standardized tests actually set a floor. I teach standardized testing for a living (maybe I'm part of the problem, but I do it for the monies), and can tell you without a doubt that most standardized tests can be beaten with almost no actual knowledge of the subject matter.

Standardized testing plus teach-to-the-test curricula create a lot of false positives, allowing ill-equipped students into programs they are not at all qualified to attend.

[MrMon]

[ QUOTE ]
You're making a mistake assuming that standardized tests actually set a floor. I teach standardized testing for a living (maybe I'm part of the problem, but I do it for the monies), and can tell you without a doubt that most standardized tests can be beaten with almost no actual knowledge of the subject matter.

Standardized testing plus teach-to-the-test curricula create a lot of false positives, allowing ill-equipped students into programs they are not at all qualified to attend.

[/ QUOTE ]

You are correct. I am assuming they set a floor, when I really mean they should set a floor. And although you say that the tests can be beaten with little to no actually knowledge of the subject matter, what does it say when students can't even pass these beatable tests?

From what I've read, having too many students pass the tests, or having some slip by that aren't qualified is generally not a widespread problem. Those few who do slip by, with help from people like you, are quickly weeded out by other means. At least I hope those guys who beat the MCAT are.

[mwgr5]

Most people don't care about truly learning. The point of high school is to get into college and the point of college is to get a job. Anyway that gets your through college to the desired job is the way most take. This path often doesn't require in depth knowledge or reasoning. No everyone wants to learn in school, some just learn to play the game to get where they want.