Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: ACT, advanced placement, getting into college, private education, public education, SAT, standardized education
There are so many things to say about standardized testing, so perhaps I should start with something that bothers me most on a very personal level: standardized testing is absolutely detrimental to a child’s emotional growth and self esteem. While testing can be an effective way to determine where someone or something stands in regards to its peers, it is not a healthy way to test children. Children should be provided with a encouraging and supportive learning environment, rather than a learning environment thats only purpose is to judge. To a grade school student, feedback that states “below average” can be easily interpreted as “you are stupid”. Is that how we want our kids, who might be fabulous artists or excellent communicators, to feel just because they aren’t as good at math as the rest? Or perhaps, their learning styles simply don’t match that of our state implemented teaching styles.
In the mind of a ten year old, when your daily concerns involve catching the bus on time, and what game you will play at recess, something as big as a standardized test that “measures intelligence” is sure to make an impact.
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I couldn’t agree more with what you have to say about standardized testing. I think that by classifying some children as highly gifted and putting them in separate classes and not classifying others can be extremely detrimental to a child’s learning experience and self esteem. Childhood is one of the most important parts of persons life and it is the time when they develop self esteem and confidence and so I think that by classifying these children in different categories of intelligence is extremely harmful to their process of growing up. I really liked what you had to say!
Comment by Roxy Wright October 2, 2007 @ 6:47 pmRoxy Wright
You make such good points. It’s sad how many things get said/done to kids without adults even realizing it. When you’re a kid, so much of your life is built of new experiences. When a kid, who has never thought of school in any way other than a place they can see their friends and learn some fun stuff, is told that they’re “below average” a whole new aspect of life gets thrown in.
You’re right, these sort of test are sure to make an impact.
Comment by Kassi October 2, 2007 @ 6:56 pmI feel like you have a lot of passion for this topic. I think this is a hard topic because many children are not be encouraged due to low standardized test scores. My sister, however, was put in a special placement early on, and it was one of the best things for her. She was pushed hard at n early age has has been very successful and is completing her phD at the moment. I on the other hand, see kids who may not be placed high and think that either they may develop low self-esteem, but also use it as an excuse to slack off. I am interested to see where you take this.
Comment by Lindsay San Jose October 2, 2007 @ 7:06 pmI think this is a great topic, I can’t wait to read more and hear the facts that you will provide us with. You make great points and it is an issue that should be addressed. I always dreaded those tests because I was horrible at testing, but got good grades anyway. Just because a kid doesn’t work well under pressure when they are 7, doesn’t mean they are not smart.
Comment by Emily October 23, 2007 @ 7:03 pmIt is absolutely amazing to me that every student who has commented on this blog has nothing but bad memories about standardized testing. Do Educational Boards have any idea that this is what they are doing to kids in the long run? Hopefully once our generation of Standardized Testers grows up, we can reflect on our experiences, and do something about it.
Comment by dissipated1 November 8, 2007 @ 5:16 pm