The title of the article “What do test scores really tell us?” explains it all as to what Gary Gutting is going to focus on in the artifact I found. It goes on to address a variety of people, the main targets however are school board officials, parents, and even students. Gutting’s main thesis explains how we should be finding a reason as to why students do bad on standardized tests and how schools shouldn’t be so hasty to make changes because every students test differently from each other and one drastic change won’t necessarily fix the problems. Even though I agree with the point he is trying to get across, there are points in his argument where I don’t wholeheartedly agree with and that are weak and could use more substantial evidence. He often contradicts himself and statements he makes are opinionated. Not to mention that the examples he refutes, like the survey he included, are unreliable which goes back to where his argument is weak. There are a couple areas up for improvement, regarding the weak areas and contradicting statements. “What do test scores tell us” begins with telling how standardized testing isn’t used to benefit students, but that it’s used more as an evaluation for teachers and the school system. It then goes on explaining how bad test scores cause “educational reform”, supporting this with evidence …show more content…
He goes onto the topics of how if tests “actually tests for things that we want students to know”, how interest and experience plays a part in test score, if teachers judgment is reliable, and if testing is “adequate to evaluate certain sorts of student learning” (Gutting). These all come as a prelude to his final and main argument. While these questions get the reader thinking, they don’t have enough evidence or relevancy to support his final