...scientist, but in reality, standardized tests are the culprit. Standardized Testing: two words that as soon as teachers, their students, and administrators hear this, they fret. The day where all outstanding abilities acquired throughout the year is assessed at once. All this joyful news of how standardized testing supposedly creates miracles of our knowledge, increasing student achievement, may be proven wrong or right, but that is not our deepest concerns. A student’s mental/physical health and future as an authentic learner is most at risk here. No matter how many cries from multiple students are heard, they continue to be silenced. Simply put, all standardized testing should be abolished for they are hurting students both in and out of classrooms. As students we deserve the ability to access authentic learning, however, with standardized testing heavily relied on, students are deprived of this interaction. In order to comprehend the authenticity being compromised, we must first understand, what is authentic learning. Steve Revington, awarded The Prime Minister's Award of Teaching...
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...students. Standardized tests have been around for a long time and have not shown any improvement. Standardized tests are a waste of money because billions of dollars are spent on it. The tests have unreachable goals for the kids and they have gotten rid of some classes that aren't on the test. During the tests they put all the students in one room and expect every kid in the room to be silent and not talk for multiple days. The younger kids have a hard time since they want to talk to their friend but they can not.The tests have no use or no improvements are shown on these tests academically. This is why these tests are not essential The amount money spent on the tests is outrageous .According to Brown Center of Education...
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...Standardized tests like the SATs and the ACTs or other national and state exams are supposed to measure the student’s abilities and what they learned during the year, but are passing score limits measuring how good students did during the school year? To have an average grade in a class a student needs a C, yet on the end of year test a student can get an F and still pass. To me that’s not measuring what a student has learned and accomplished during the school year, if they can barely pass the test, passing would be like failing a class for the year. These tests are also being used to judge how schools, counties, and the teachers to see how they are doing. With the passing limit being so low these tests are not showing how good anybody is...
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...Standardized Testing Over this past summer, a close friend of mine explained to me the school that he had applied to recently. My friend has been switching schools quite frequently due to his particular learning style and academic needs. He applied to this particular school due to the fact that there is no standardized testing. This factor made him very happy; but, in his youthfulness I think he failed to realize the true benefits of the lack of standardized tests in schools. When standardized tests are in placed in a school district, they greatly warp the school’s academic curriculum. For example: the teachers must teach material that will appear on the standardized tests. For if they don’t, the students will perform poorly on the tests; thus, reflecting poorly on the teachers, which reflects poorly on the school district as a whole. In addition, any school district which uses standardized tests (I’ll call them “standardized schools) will not be...
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...No more standardized tests! When the teacher says it's time for pass or any other type of standardized tests most people become deathly afraid of paper and school. Students shouldn’t have to take standardized tests for three main reasons.First of all they take way too long to do for example one pass tests could take three students like half of the day to complete. Plus there are some teachers who have things they need to teach to their class before the end of the year but they can’t because of standardized tests take way too long for the students to complete.Schools did try to fix that though by coming up with act aspire tests which are like these timed tests but that doesn't do anything except put more stress on students which then causes them to take too long...
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...Associate Program Material Characteristics of the Expository Essay What Is an Essay? An essay is an important part of your college experience because it requires critical thinking as well as organization and research. Essay is a broad term. Sometimes an essay is just a page long; sometimes, essays are five pages or longer. Essays, however, focus on a single subject and idea. They also have different purposes: to persuade, explain, or entertain. Consider the following essay titles: • “Why You Should Never Vote for a Democrat” • “My Friend Harry Reasoner” • “Cell Phones: Getting the Most for the Least” • “Gay Marriage Does Not Hurt Traditional Marriage” • “How to Write an Essay” How would you categorize the essays above based on the titles? Is “Why You Should Never Vote for a Democrat” a persuasive essay or an entertaining one? Does “How to Write an Essay” explain or persuade? Even within a classification, writers use different types of development and have multiple purposes for their essays. Essay Classifications Writers classify essays in different ways. The following table includes common types of essays as well as examples: Type of Essay Definition Example Expository Uses evidence, examples, or facts to explain a concept or to inform about a topic with a thesis as its base; the information must be presented fairly and in a nonbiased manner “How to Stop Smoking” Persuasive or Argumentative Uses evidence, examples, or facts to persuade your...
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...It seems unfair that you were handed such a poor topic for a persuasive speech as Anit-Homeschooling surely is. It’s kind of hard to be ‘persuasive’ without facts and statistics to back up your (assigned) stance. And, unfortunately (for the sake of your assignment, at least), the only *statistics* and *facts* out there put homeschooling in a decidedly favorable light. What you *will* find are mere opinion pieces arguing against homeschooling. However, keep in mind these articles provide no substantiating evidence to support their “anti-homeschooling” stance. Such articles, unfortunately (for your assignment, at least), are based on mere myths--some of which have been expressed right HERE by some of your responders. To wit: A) quote:“Home schooled people [will] be passed over for someone that has been through a school that has testing standards as well as requirments (sic) and guidlines (sic) for the teachers them selves.” Wrong. Homeschooled students consistently outperform public school students on standardized tests. [http://www.academicleadership.org/empric... and elsewhere] Moreover, it is no secret that our public schools are failing and that we are far behind other industrialized nations in academic achievement. See: Public High Schools Failing: Colleges Now Spend Billions On Remedial Classes For Freshmen http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2... http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YmJ... What’s Wrong With Our Schools http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/04/09/time...
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...all students in the public schools of the United States. As a piece of both egalitarian and neo-liberal legislation, its aim was to bring quantitative progress to all school-age youth, especially those in lower-achieving schools. No Child Left Behind Act was to achieve this goal by testing students' proficiency in three subjects: math, reading, and science. Through this standardized testing the government would hold schools accountable for the progress of their students. However, the result has been far from the progress intended. As a result of No Child Left Behind, class time is spent teaching to the test, and the social sciences are being ignored. Not only does the drop in social studies education present a risk for the students in high-stakes testing schools, but it also widens the inequality gap between students and presents a threat to the communities around them; for this reason parents, students, teachers and community members should push for increased emphasis on engaging social studies education in schools. Social Studies and the Test While math, reading, and science are tested by every school in the country, social studies is not. It is easy to test math skills on a standardized test; there is only one right answer. It is also easy to test reading comprehension; the text shows the right answer. Reading, and math are skills, easy to test and measure. However, social studies and science are different. Both have to do more with specific knowledge and understandings...
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...Council for Education Standards and Testing, 1992 discussions, and more. Now, 10 years later, we are hearing the same reminder (Brennan, Kim, WenzGross, Siperstein, 2001; Herman, 2001; International Reading Association, 1999). In fact, in July 2001 members of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teacher’s union, endorsed a policy calling for a combination of standardized tests and other assessment tools such as teacher designed assessments when making important educational decisions (Blair & Archer, 2001). Assessment has always been a part of the educational landscape. However, because assessment can serve so many different purposes and can come in so many different forms, it has been confusing and, sometimes, it has been the subject of contentious debate. Unfortunately, as a result, many of us have come to view assessment as a necessary evil, a requirement rather than a helpful part of instruction. But assessment IS a critical part of instruction and it CAN be useful if we understand the pieces of the puzzle. As far back as 1992, when the standards movement was launched, the National Council for Education Standards and Testing, a team of experts in education, assessment and policy, reminded our nation of the different purposes for assessment— from public accountability to creating individualizing instructional plans for children. They also cautioned us to use multiple measures to fit these purposes including standardized...
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...Criterion SM Online Essay Evaluation: An Application for Automated Evaluation of Student Essays Jill Burstein Educational Testing Service Rosedale Road, 18E Princeton, NJ 08541 jburstein@ets.org Martin Chodorow Department of Psychology Hunter College 695 Park Avenue New York, NY 10021 martin.chodorow@hunter.cuny.edu Claudia Leacock Educational Testing Service Rosedale Road, 18E Princeton, NJ 08541 cleacock@ets.org Abstract This paper describes a deployed educational technology application: the CriterionSM Online Essay Evaluation Service, a web-based system that provides automated scoring and evaluation of student essays. Criterion has two complementary applications: E-rater®, an automated essay scoring system and Critique Writing Analysis Tools, a suite of programs that detect errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics, that identify discourse elements in the essay, and that recognize elements of undesirable style. These evaluation capabilities provide students with feedback that is specific to their writing in order to help them improve their writing skills. Both applications employ natural language processing and machine learning techniques. All of these capabilities outperform baseline algorithms, and some of the tools agree with human judges as often as two judges agree with each other. 2. Application Description Criterion contains two complementary applications that are based on natural language processing (NLP) methods. The scoring application, e-rater®, extracts...
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...Running head: ENGLISH-ONLY DEBATE PAPER English-Only Debate Paper Anne-Cecile Grundy Grand Canyon University ESL 523N September 26, 2010 Abstract English language learners are a very heterogeneous and complex group of children, with diverse gifts, educational needs, backgrounds, languages, and goals. They are the fastest growing section of the student population in schools and offer challenges and opportunities to the American education. In this study, the writer will explore the arguments of both sides of the English-only issue, which started decades ago and is still very active today. Emphasis will be placed on the comparison and contrast of the positions presented by advocates and opponents of the English-only debate and will be supported with state’ voter-driven initiatives and laws relating to English language learners. English-Only Debate Paper In the eighteen century, education in the United States was provided in different languages: German, Dutch, French or Swedish. After World War I, when German was a proscribed language, the American population started to think about an education solely in English. However, until 1968, the language policies were left to the discretion of the school, church, city, or state. At this time, the federal government dictated how the non-English-speaking students should be taught, and therefore, started a very controversial debate in the public education sector (Porter, 1998). “In September 1995, Representative John T. Doolittle...
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...CHAPTER 4: Psychological Testing I/O psychologists generally agree that no other selection technique is superior to intelligence or cognitive ability tests for selecting the best employees. They carry fewer risks of adverse impact in hiring decisions, they are good predictors of performance on the job and in training programs for many kinds of occupations. Even NFL, football teams administer psychological tests to prospective players. The New York Giants team has used personality tests to detect whether a player would tend to be overly aggressive, undisciplined or likely to cause trouble on and off the field. Characteristics of Psychological Tests Carefully developed and researched psychological tests have several characteristics. A proper test is: standardized, objective, based on sound norms, reliable, and valid. ➢ Standardization Standardization refers to the consistency or uniformity of the conditions and procedures for administering a test. Every person taking the test reads or listens to the same instructions, is allowed the same amount of time in which to respond, and is situated in a similar physical environment > any change in the testing procedure may produce a change in individual test performance. E.g. if the air-conditioner has broken down on a particular day, then the ppl perfoming the test that day may not do as well as others. The test administrators should...
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...Analyzing and Interpreting Literature 2012 Examination Guide These materials are owned and copyrighted by the College Board. They may not be posted on the Internet or on any other public document sharing site. The materials in these files are intended for PERSONAL USE ONLY. Violations of this policy may be subject to legal action including, but not limited to, payment for each guide that is disseminated unlawfully and associated damages. V isit our website at w ww.collegeboard.org/clep f or the most up-to-date information. © 2011 The College Board. College Board, CLEP, College-Level Examination Program, SAT and the acorn logo are registered trademarks of the College Board. inspiring minds is a trademark owned by the College Board. All other products and services may be trademarks of their respective owners. Visit the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.org. Introduction This is the only official guide to the 33 College-Level Examination Program® (CLEP®) exams. CLEP exams are administered on computer test centers across the country. This Guide has been written mainly for adults who are making plans to enroll in college, but it contains information of interest to others as well. College-bound high school students, current college students, military personnel, professionals seeking certification and persons of all ages who have learned or wish to learn college-level material outside the college classroom will find the Guide helpful as they strive...
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...Connecticut State Department of Education Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) Third Generation Handbook for Reading and Writing Across the Disciplines Contents Technical note: If using an electronic version of this handbook, click on any underlined text to link to the specific section in the document. Foreword 3 Position Statement 4 Introduction 6 Reading Across the Disciplines: • Response to Literature 8 • Reading for Information 11 Writing Across the Disciplines: • Interdisciplinary Writing 15 • Editing and Revising 18 Instructional Strategies to Use All Year 19 CAPT Strategies for All Students 22 Additional Assessment Information 25 Released Items 26 Foreword On behalf of the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE), I am pleased to present the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) Third Generation Handbook for Reading and Writing Across the Disciplines. The third generation CAPT, developed in 2004 and piloted in 2005 and 2006, will be administered live for the first time in March 2007. This handbook has been developed to provide Connecticut’s public school educators with important information about the CAPT reading and writing across the disciplines assessments. It should serve as a reference for all content area teachers as they prepare their students. It is designed to answer the frequently asked questions about...
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...Implementation of Activities in the Classroom Incorporation of activities into lesson plans is critical to the successful implementation of the Louisiana Comprehensive Curriculum. The Comprehensive Curriculum indicates one way to align instruction with Louisiana standards, benchmarks, and grade-level expectations. The curriculum is aligned with state content standards, as defined by grade-level expectations (GLEs), and organized into coherent, time-bound units with sample activities and classroom assessments to guide teaching and learning. The units in the curriculum have been arranged so that the content to be assessed will be taught before the state testing dates. While teachers may substitute equivalent activities and assessments based on the instructional needs, learning styles, and interests of their students, the Comprehensive Curriculum should be a primary resource when planning instruction. Grade level expectations—not the textbook—should determine the content to be taught. Textbooks and other instructional materials should be used as resource in teaching the grade level expectations. Lesson plans should be designed to introduce students to one or more of the activities, to provide background information and follow-up, and to prepare students for success in mastering the Grade-Level Expectations associated with the activities. Lesson plans should address individual needs of students and...
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