...Bonnie Hurst Adv. English 10 7 March 2016 Annotated Bibliography "Are Test Scores a Good Indication of a School Competency?." Mariachedel. N.p., 22 Sept. 2011. Web. 08 Mar. 2016. https://mariachedel.wordpress.com/2011/09/22/are-test-scores-a-good-indication-of-a-school-competency/ The article “Are Test Scores a Good Indication of a School Competency”, analyzes test score determination of a schools ability to perform and argues that tests scores are not the nest indication of a school’s competency. The article states that test scores are a way to determine competency but there are other better ways to determine this such as all of the grades of the students together. The article says that some schools allow the students to study hard for these test that they turn in and other schools only let a handful of the “smarter” children take this standardize test to turn in the scores of. The author believes that the students are in school to be taught the curriculum and the best method of seeing how well the students have progressed and comprehended is by giving a test on the materials. So the tests scares do show a type of competency: the teaching of the material, in motivating the students to study, in convincing them that tests are important, in choosing the material that will be on the exam paper. The author believes that there are more indicators to a schools competency then standardized tests. “Positive test scores can greatly motivate the government to issue more money so that...
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...The answer to show if test scores are a good indication of School’s competency is simply no! I find myself in this predicament with every test I take. During high school the education seemed easy to me as I did good on all assignments for EVERY class, but yet when I taking tests such as the ACT and SAT, I always fail to achieve the points I need on it. I fell far below average and then was required to take placements test’s to get into college. I can’t believe how I can feel so smart completing the normal assignments then feel dumb as I fail the test’s. During my sophomore year, my class had to take the Arizona’s Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) test which can either allow you or kept you from graduating high school. The AIMS test includes four content areas: writing, reading, mathematics, and science. You have multiply opportunities to take this test and pass each content area before the end of your senior year. I passed all content areas on my first try and seemed very proud and confident that I would do well on the advanced tests for college. When it came to the end of my senior year and I shuck hands with my Principle during our graduation ceremony, I was saddened as most of my friends didn’t get to receive a diploma. They had to wait to graduate during the summer time because they failed to pass the AIMS. My friends were good students like me and passed each class and followed the guide lines of our school. For example, they didn’t do drugs, drink alcohol...
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...minute. Realization that this test score could cause numerous desirable colleges to decide denial of an application occurs, which causes the heart to race as if the body is running twenty miles per an hour on a treadmill. Having to resort to filling the remaining answer choices with the infamous “Letter of the Day” follows with only thirty seconds left until potential self-destruction. Congratulations, a full-blown panic attack has been incited. Fortunately, not everyone experiences the dread associated with taking the outrageously...
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...very successful with major. I knew as a child that I wanted to be a lawyer. At the time I knew I was going to go to college and major in law. My goal became more specific when I was in high school. I feel very confident in college because of preparation. I know that I will become successful in my academic goal because not only I prepared well for my college major but I also love my major if you are interested in something, you are going to do it with passion. That is my case. I really enjoy the courses which I’m taking. I know that I’m going achieve my academic goal which is to earn a degree in law. My motivation is my children I want them to see if you believe you will achieve. I will keep a positive attitude at all times. Career Goal My career goal is to become a lawyer so that’s why Im taking up criminal justice. I need to earn a bachelor's degree in order to get into law school. There are no required courses or recommended majors for law school admission. However, courses that develop skills in writing, reading, public speaking, logic and research can be helpful. Some law schools may prefer applicants who have taken intellectually challenging courses. Then the LSAT scores are required to be submitted along with your law school application. This test is administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) and is used to assess your reading, comprehension, reasoning and critical thinking skills. But in the mean time I will keep a positive attitude push myself. I know...
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...Armando Gomez SPC 1017 11:40AM July 25, 2014 Adjusting Medical School Admission: Assessing Interpersonal Skills using Situational Judgment Tests Situational judgment tests (SJTs) are a type of psychological test, which present the test-taker with realistic, hypothetical scenarios and ask the individual to identify the most appropriate response or to rank the responses in the order they feel is most effective. SJTs can be presented to test-takers through a variety of modules, such as booklets, films, or audio recordings. SJTs represent a distinct psychometric approach from the common knowledge-based multiple choice item. They are often used in industrial-organizational psychology applications such as personnel selection. Situational judgment tests tend to determine behavioral tendencies, assessing how an individual will behave in a certain situation, and knowledge instruction, which evaluates the effectiveness of possible responses. Situational judgment tests could also reinforce the status quo with an organization. Unlike most psychological tests SJTs are not acquired 'off-the-shelf', but are in fact designed as a bespoke tool, tailor-made to suit the individual role requirements. This is because SJTs are not a type of test with respect to their content, but are a method of designing tests. Developing a situational judgment test begins with conducting a job analysis that includes collecting critical incidents. These critical incidents are used to develop different situations...
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...Year) Student Test Scores used for indicating a School’s Competency Student’s test scores are regarded as a pivotal means of evaluating an institution’s progress relative to all other institutions. Traditionally, students securing high scores are considered as the apple of everyone’s eye and all the schools view them as their prized resources that are a means of enhancing the reputation of the institute (Astin, 5). This essay caters with a meticulous account of the extent to which test scores are beneficial in assessing a school’s competency. It highlights the factors affecting the evaluation based upon assessments of school competency level linked to student test scores. It also presents some alternative methods in deploying the use of test scores in a more accurate way in order to measure school competency thoroughly. Test Scores Indicate Proficiency of Learning at School Test scores are a useful tool in evaluating the performance of schools provided they are interpreted very carefully, keeping in mind the reasons and objectives of tests. A single test can only reflect a sample of skills; therefore, every score involves error to some extent. Majority of factors influence scores, particularly validity and reliability. If reliable tests are taken at regular intervals, they yield consistent results. Valid tests like the ones testing reading decoding skills of students are helpful in sorting out the weak and strong students. Due to this reliable and valid tests are extremely...
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...Standardized tests are poor because they measure a student's level of education by giving them tests that if they fail, it would jeopardize their future therefore they should get rid of them. It is wrong for a student to complete four years of high school with good grades and other good qualifications, and then have that student take a test and be placed at a remedial level due to the scores they receive. Standardized tests are a waste of time, because some people actually know the information and are smart, but they are just bad tests takers or maybe they just are not good with a test, which does not mean they should be put in remedial classes or be denied admission to the university they want to go to because of that. Standardized test are...
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...Position Against Standardized Testing I am a mother of two elementary school age kids, Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) board member, and actively involved in my children’s education. I have often asked why there is so much emphasis on standardized tests. Growing up, we took standardized tests but there was no real preparation work or stress over the test. We didn’t even know until the week prior that we had testing coming up. Back then teachers taught and engaged their students in learning all subjects because they loved teaching. We learned not only what was minimally acceptable to pass a standardized test, but much more beyond the testing requirements. I am very interested about high stake standardized testing in our public school system because it seems my children’s curriculum is solely based on concepts they need to learn to pass their standardized test. Rather than teaching to our children who are eager to learn how to be higher-level thinkers, we seem to be teaching them to accept a minimal standard and simply learn how to pass a test. Today, I see our children being given pretests and benchmark tests to see how well they will do on the standardized test. I witness teachers under pressure to make sure they get the curriculum in prior to the test and students being drilled repeatedly for the standardized tests. Our children come home stressed and concerned because in some states, these tests can determine if you are from moving to the next grade level, even if...
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...points. The article is divided into 8 key fact points. Fact 1 brings to light about how frequently the students are being tested and how big of a role theses test play a role on student progress. Kohn provides numerous examples to substantiate his concern that the tests are politically driven, inappropriate as measures of learning substantive skills, and counterproductive. Fact 2 describes the life of the student, number of parents living at home, parents' educational background, type of community, and poverty rate all have a factor on student. We debate this issue because it is not fair that student of a low poverty school does not receive the same benefits as the more privileged schools do. Students living in high poverty environments are mostly to dropout, do poor on test, and have harder time grasping information. Many low poverty schools do not have the educators that they should have. Meaning they may have uncertified teachers, or many first year teachers. Many teachers go to high poverty school Fact 3 Norm-referenced tests were never intended to measure the quality of learning or teaching. This type of test identifies whether the test taker performed better or worse than other test takers, but not whether the test taker knows either more or less material than is necessary for a given purpose. Fact 4 states that the test is concerned with or comprehending only what is apparent or obvious. Number 5 states that these testing should not be intent for children under the age of...
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...Testing In past decades, tests were given to students to decide their placement in classes or to determine which students needed to be placed in resources class. Today, standardized tests are used for arbitrating the success or failure of students, teachers, and schools. “Despite their biases, inaccuracies, limited ability to measure achievement or ability, and other flaws, schools use standardized tests to determine if children are ready for school, track them into instructional groups; diagnose for learning disability, retardation and other handicaps; and decide whether to promote, retain in grade, or graduate many students. Schools also use tests to guide and control curriculum content and teaching methods” (Fair Test, 2007). On top of that, should one test at the end of a school year determine if a teacher was successful? No! A teacher’s success should be determined on the children’s learning throughout an entire school year based on many different assessments; this should be the same for children’s success. Students and teachers need to be held accountable for their success but not by administrating a standardized test. Standardized testing has become a political issue. When schools are tested they are compared to other schools in there state and nationally which permits politicians to display their concerns about certain school systems. You see, in the political world politician’s show their concern with our schools by attaching standardized tests, accountability, and...
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...In schools all over the United States, students prepare for standardized tests that can potentially determine which university they attend. Standardized tests are designed to evaluate students on specific skills and knowledge they should have acquired throughout their educational career. Schools are beginning to focus all their attention on making sure students get their desired scores on these standardized tests, that they have stopped teaching them to actually learn and comprehend the information. These exams don’t accurately determine how smart or how ready these students are for college. Colleges look at scores and consider it a major factor to getting into the perspective school. Some schools also look at the students GPA and extracurricular...
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...students in a public school system? The purpose of this study is to test whether motivational instructions improve performance on standardized tests with students in two different schools in the Chicago Public Schools System. Figuring out whether doing simple things such as changing the way the test is presented to positively impact the way the students take the test and their resulting scores ways heavily on those who give these standardized tests. An e-mail will be sent around to all elementary school principals and fourth grade teachers in the Public Schools System in Chicago. This e-mail will discuss the concern of high standardized test scores in all schools across the United States. It will also ask these principals and teachers if they will be willing to participate in a simple study that will give educators more insight as to whether the way a teacher presents the instructions of their tests has an impact on the scores of these students. Of the schools that send back an e-mail stating that they are interested in the study, five to ten schools will be chosen. These schools will be chosen according to the number of students in the fourth grade, male to female ratio, their average test scores, socioeconomic status, and representation of the population. The schools with the most similar of these variables will be chosen to participate in this study. These students will already be divided into groups of about 150 students according to the elementary school these students...
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...Assessments of Academic Readiness or STAAR exams. (In Protest, Parents Keep Students Home during STAAR Test Days) For Texas, the STAAR test measures a students ability to move on to the next grade starting in 3rd grade. Within this passed year about 500 parents in Texas choose for their children to stay home from taking the STAAR tests. (Webmaster) Do parents have the right intentions? They believe that schools are more concerned about the test scores than their children from actually learning. In Texas, students must take the exam another day or receive a zero. (Webmaster) How could these parents keep...
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...Chapter I: The Problem and Its Background Introduction Student achievement is not simply a matter of what happens in school. Academic achievement can be defined as excellence in all academic disciplines, in class as well as extracurricular activities. It includes excellence in sporting, behavior, confidence, communication skills, punctuality, assertiveness, arts, culture, and the like. It is a good way to enhance the drive of student to achieve a lot. It is about academic excellence, exemplary deportment, special awards, essential life skills, and responsibility to the community. In terms of academics, all students will obtain, understand, analyze, communicate and apply knowledge and skills to achieve success in school and life. In terms of essential life skills, all students will demonstrate aptitude, attitudes, and skills to lead responsible, fulfilling, and respectful lives. In terms of responsibility to the community, all students will understand and model the important attributes people must have to contribute to an effective and productive community and common good of all. In brief, it involves both product and process, and achievement is assessed both individually and collaboratively. A key component of both the product and the process in this "new literacy" classroom is that the students need to be conversant in multiple forms of representation—they must collect and process a certain amount of information, including non-print material such as photographs, video footage...
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...Testing in schools has always been common; teachers need a way to arbitrate if students are understanding and obtaining the knowledge being taught. However, a different type of test is becoming prominent in school systems. Standardized testing, examinations administered and scored in a standard manner (7), are taking over the school systems. Standardized tests administered to students are either aptitude tests or achievement tests. Aptitude tests predict student’s performance, like the common ACT and SAT that colleges frequently use; achievement tests evaluate teacher and school effectiveness (7). Although standardized tests are becoming significant in school curriculum, the results do not accurately represent student or teacher abilities....
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