2008 Woodie Awards
Grade people by thought, not method
Ashley Brown
Issue date: 4/25/07 Section: Opinion
Throughout our education, we are required to prove our knowledge to professors, academic evaluators, prospective employers and many others. There are various ways in which we are asked to do this. We may have to write an essay, give a presentation, answer a series of short answer questions or bubble in the answers on a standardized test. Of these methods, some are more effective than others, and some perhaps should be used on a more limited basis.
Starting at an early age, we are exposed to the world of standardized tests. We are taught all the tricks to answering questions correctly, even if we do not know what the correct answer is. So how do these standardized tests prove that we know anything at all? They simply prove that we are good at taking tests. Don't they?
So why do we rely on these type of tests to prove so much about ourselves? We take standardized tests to prove that we are on grade level with other students in our state throughout elementary school and high school. We also put much more faith in these tests as we prove that we are ready for other forms of education, with the American College Test (ACT) and the Scholastics Aptitude Test (SAT), but in reality, do they really prove that we are ready for anything? Do they truly represent our knowledge? No, they do not. These tests only prove that we have been well trained in taking standardized tests.
It is true, that some knowledge is required to be able to answer all of the questions correctly, but with so many guessing techniques it's possible to do well on one of these tests without knowing anything pertaining to many of the questions that you answered.
This is yet another way that people have become lazy. These standardized tests oversimplify the material so that we can survive by simply memorizing facts, limiting the creativity in learning anything. This takes place in order to make things simple to organize and grade and attempt to make things fair. Fairness, however, as an argument is not valid. A test is fair if it is the same test for each person, so an essay test would be fair as well.
Starting at an early age, we are exposed to the world of standardized tests. We are taught all the tricks to answering questions correctly, even if we do not know what the correct answer is. So how do these standardized tests prove that we know anything at all? They simply prove that we are good at taking tests. Don't they?
So why do we rely on these type of tests to prove so much about ourselves? We take standardized tests to prove that we are on grade level with other students in our state throughout elementary school and high school. We also put much more faith in these tests as we prove that we are ready for other forms of education, with the American College Test (ACT) and the Scholastics Aptitude Test (SAT), but in reality, do they really prove that we are ready for anything? Do they truly represent our knowledge? No, they do not. These tests only prove that we have been well trained in taking standardized tests.
It is true, that some knowledge is required to be able to answer all of the questions correctly, but with so many guessing techniques it's possible to do well on one of these tests without knowing anything pertaining to many of the questions that you answered.
This is yet another way that people have become lazy. These standardized tests oversimplify the material so that we can survive by simply memorizing facts, limiting the creativity in learning anything. This takes place in order to make things simple to organize and grade and attempt to make things fair. Fairness, however, as an argument is not valid. A test is fair if it is the same test for each person, so an essay test would be fair as well.
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