dem00n Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 A little info on state tests for new york, in new york we have something called the Regents. The state tells the teachers whats going to be on the test and what to teach but in reality only 60% or more of the info they teach us will be on the test, the teachers dont know what will be on the test (true?) in-till the day the kids take it. Now i think schools should just have finals, not finals and state tests. There aren't state tests every year, but some kids get hit hard under pressure. My friend quit bass because he thought it was to distracting to play when he was studying for tests. Majority of teachers here believe that there should only be finals because they get to teach what they think is important to the kids, not what the state thinks. Not saying the state is wrong, but i think teachers would be more right. Now i dont know anything about other states, Ive been told that Texas has a really easy state test like thing and that CA has one, but those are rumors. This is all what i think and what Ive learned from students and teachers, its not only my school Ive been able to talk to teachers in other schools. Never go to talk to one more upstate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 State tests are ****, don't do anything. you misspelled maybe, every time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dem00n Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 ****! Mabye...maybe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Seriously though, in Illinois at least, the state tests don't really mean a whole lot, but people stress out over them a ton, but some teachers just say it doesn't matter how you do It's not to help you learn, its so the school can look better to the state No longer do we as students learn useful knowledge, we just learn what can help the school get more money from the state Can you say puppets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldenone Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 You got it Fred! Except these test do something, waste teaching time and a ton of money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman5293 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 In Texas we take the state test every year except senior year. For Freshman and Sophomores, the state tests mean nothing. But for Juniors, if you fail the state test you can't graduate. It's all a load of bull$hit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Mabye !!!!! is a little county in Louisiana where there is no 'State' testing, learning French is mandatory, class sizes are kept small, and all the cool chicks dig strawberries....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 oops, double post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 In Texas we take the state test every year except senior year. For Freshman and Sophomores, the state tests mean nothing. But for Juniors, if you fail the state test you can't graduate. It's all a load of bull$hit! Just out of curiosity, what is such bullshit about if you fail, you can't graduate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman5293 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Just out of curiosity, what is such bullshit about if you fail, you can't graduate? Failing a state test? I would understand if it was you fail finals and you can't graduate but a state test shouldn't count. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxson50 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 TEST? WE DON'T NEED NO STINKING TEST! We don't need standards...as long as the US can attract educated people from abroad why worry about the state of our education system? Let that sink in... Our education system produces more English majors, political science majors, and lawyers then any other nation on earth. China emphasizes engineering and science majors. Which of these professions do you think will benefit us the most in the next 50 years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Failing a state test? I would understand if it was you fail finals and you can't graduate but a state test shouldn't count. State tests are the groundline. All of the school's tests such as finals are all above that. If you fail a state test, you will probably fail a final Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 In Illinois the state test does mean something. a.) A low score means a student isn't performing at his grade level, and b.) If a school's aggregate score is poor enough, the local school board loses control of the school and the state takes over until things turn around. I live near a school district where this has happened, and buddy, you do not want that to happen in your school district. State tests are more a check on how the teachers are doing. The tests, if they are good ones, as most are, should reveal a student's competency level. This is a good bench mark for determining whether they are ready for college. Every high school graduate should be proficient enough to enter college. Not all will go to college, but they should be given the tools to get there if they so choose. Aggregate numbers of student scores are used to determine whether a local school system is doing it's job, and therefore the teachers. It seems some teachers bristle at the thought of having to 'Teach to the Test'. A statement which boggles my mind. I mean these teachers give tests every semester and I can only assume they are teaching to their own test. Why would a teacher NOT want to teach the students what is on the test? I have yet to have an educator explain to me why 'teaching to the test' is a bad thing. I have asked dozens and none can explain it. Yes, some students are not 'good test takers' and get stressed about it. First of all, life is full of stressful moments. Part of school is learning how to deal with life's problems. Sheltering the students from it only harms them. My daughter taught part time at Sylvan Learning labs and this is one of the main things they teach; how to take a test. They also offer a focused course on taking SAT tests. You'd be amazed what she taught them. The 'Science' portion doesn't check your prowess for science. It's measures reading comprehension! Reading comprehension is the most important aspect to learning. We, U.S., as a nation, have been doing a pi$$ poor job educating our children for about 2 generations now. It's time to stop the namby pamby whining about 'teaching to the test' and start doing it. If the test is flawed, then fix it. But if we are going to be able to hold the students, parents, teachers, and school administration accountable for the rotten job we are doing teaching our children, we have GOT to be teaching students what they need to succeed in life or they will lose what we have. We have already seen our manufacturing jobs disappear. Next will be tech jobs. And buddy, it might already be too late. It's time to wake up and smell the jet fuel. In my estimation, the current S.A.T. test is way too easy. If we are to pull ourselves up by our collective boot straps and get back to the job of TEACHING in this country, we probably should be teaching to the S.A.T. so that 8th graders can pass it. And for the bass player who stopped playing bass because he needed to spend more time studying, good for him. He has a good sense of priorities. While music is important, grades are more important. While many of us imagine ourselves making a living playing music, the honest truth is very few do make a living at it. The ones that do are talented, practiced and have not shirked their education. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverside Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I'd like to see tests for parents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 TEST? WE DON'T NEED NO STINKING TEST! We don't need standards...as long as the US can attract educated people from abroad why worry about the state of our education system? Let that sink in... Our education system produces more English majors, political science majors, and lawyers then any other nation on earth. China emphasizes engineering and science majors. Which of these professions do you think will benefit us the most in the next 50 years? None of the above. If things don't turn around Mandarin Chinese class will be mandatory. Did you see the POTUS making nice with our banker this week? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Tommyk pretty well nailed it. I've been taking various machine-scored tests since I was in the third grade, and obviously that was well over half a century ago. Had a room mate my first year of boarding school back east when my Dad went to grad school in Boston. The kid had passed the New York regents exam and had graduated high school but was placed as a "junior" in our school. For what it's worth, my small South Dakota high school wasn't too bad as I was not set back at all for the prep school. My objection to standardized tests is that it does take some time from electives such as foreign languages. Modern AP high school classes also are designed rather differently than in the old days, apparently often with some work with area colleges. I'm not sure how I accept that. The problem with U.S. and other "western" education to me is that we don't seem to encourage kids to learn as much as they can of everything. Some of that will help on tests, some will just be for the kids' own internal benefit even as everything I learn is mostly just part of what makes me relatively "happy." What's worse for U.S. education is the lastest bit that kids in college aren't learning anything much more than they already learned in high school. Frankly that hasn't changed too much from when I was in college and - added to a bit of bad attitude in my case - made college rather less attractive to me than working full time for a daily newspaper. That was a stupid choice, but in ways it's one colleges should consider hasn't changed much and that they should work to correct. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artie Owl Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I'd like to see tests for parents. Amen. Since we can't stop them from their "right" to procreate we should at least offer programs for parents that give incentives like extra tax breaks or manditory baby supplies for completing the tests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artie Owl Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 None of the above. If things don't turn around Mandarin Chinese class will be mandatory. Did you see the POTUS making nice with our banker this week? (in pin yin) wo hui shuo yi diar hanyu (I speak a little Chinese) wo xi huan shuo, he who xi huan shuo zhong guo cai! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grampa Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Seriously though, in Illinois at least, the state tests don't really mean a whole lot, but people stress out over them a ton, but some teachers just say it doesn't matter how you do It's not to help you learn, its so the school can look better to the state No longer do we as students learn useful knowledge, we just learn what can help the school get more money from the state Can you say puppets? Dead on right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff-7 Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Tommy nailed the reasoning pretty well. I also agree that aptitude tests for college should be more difficult. In the Midwest we use the ACT instead of the SAT, its score can range from 1-36 and is based off 4 sections: reading, English, math and science. Your score is the average of the 4 subjects, and to get into community colleges you need to score an 18 (kids in special needs classes were able to hit this mark) and 21 for a university. A friend of mine came in still drunk from the night before and was able to get a 28 on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrosurfer1959 Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I'm all for State testing of schools - way to often in todays world school has become a glorified daycare. Way to often neither the students the parents or sadly even the teachers really care anymore. If a student can't pass tests at the sadly low (minimum level) that's required then the student needs to go into some kind of remedial training (his/her parents pay for not taxes) or perhaps they learn a trade. We spend billions on education trying for equality of education for all and still get very little return on that investment in way to many states. As for it adding pressure to the poor kids? Good competition is what drives life so welcome to the real world kids - where failure and not meeting "minimum" standards has real consequences and life long meaning, a lesson we need to teach at a much earlier age. We have pampered and protected our kids until they are almost useless. I think the things we've done like no-cut sports and any student being able to participate in classes they don't have the basics to succeed in, has made modern kids feel entitled way to often and has made them way too soft, no wonder they can't compete in the real world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 When I earned my Regents diploma from New York State it was considered a high honor. Now EVERYONE needs to pass the Regents. What do kids strive for now? The idea was to set the bar higher but I truly believe that we set it much lower now. I do believe we are testing way too much. The whole notion of independent thinking is pretty much gone. I see way too many students struggling because they can't make the leap from studying for a test by solving sample problems ad nauseum to actually LEARNING the basic theory and applying it to solve problems. I better stop here before I get really fired up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff-7 Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 When I earned my Regents diploma from New York State it was considered a high honor. Now EVERYONE needs to pass the Regents. What do kids strive for now? The idea was to set the bar higher but I truly believe that we set it much lower now. I do believe we are testing way too much. The whole notion of independent thinking is pretty much gone. I see way too many students struggling because they can't make the leap from studying for a test by solving sample problems ad nauseum to actually LEARNING the basic theory and applying it to solve problems. I better stop here before I get really fired up... Must be different in NY, I was the only person in my class to get Regents Honor Scholar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 The local middle school and elementary school - where half the kids are on free or reduced price school meals according to poverty standards, was on the state test's "you gotta improve" list. The teachers are working on some neat stuff and now the school is off the list because test results are better. I don't really know what that means, in ways, at the elementary and middle school level. I do know that at the high school level here, the kids have a lot of opportunity and generally do well on the state tests and, frankly, at whatever they go into for their future with the exception of a few who don't see a future for various reasons. There is now a battle over the way math is being taught that allows use of calculators. Some parents say kids can't even add 5 + 2 without them. I dunno. I have mixed emotions. Truly. Point is, the kids are doing well on the tests; parents are concerned their kids can't add. It's interesting. In ways I think kids were better educated in a broad sense in the old one-room rural schools of yesteryear. The problem is a combination of basic skills and creativity and ability to work under stress in today's world. Frankly I think our local schools in my little high plains town do a pretty good job of putting it all together, and I'm impressed by the way they are looking for better ways to get kids to learn. On the other hand I'm concerned sometimes with the lack of some math basic skills. Dunno what to say. Frankly after I went through about a year, year and a half of reading everything about learning theory I could find, I concluded that the research folks don't know all that much more than what folks knew when Meriwether Lewis had no real formal schooling but managed to pick up writing quite concisely, mapmaking, botany, biology, zoology, geology... at least to standards of his day. I dunno. It's a different world changing more rapidly than earlier periods short of those marked by horrible wars, disease and starvation. I just wish the "kids" on here the best of luck and hopes they want to learn not only what they like to learn, but also the basics of stuff they don't. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff-7 Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Some schools still do very well, some of the "alternative learning methods" I've seen seem to completely screw up kids basic learning skills. At least once a day I will receive an application from someone with such horrible spelling mistakes I'm surprised they passed the 1st grade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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