Tedious Testing
Well I did not think I would have time this week to be able to finally update this blog, but turns out I was wrong. What has been keeping me so busy these past days (weeks) is the zero hour of AP testing. Given that last year I have already taken two of these tests, the procedure is not new to me, but what I have been thinking about is how absolutely insipid these tests are.
Essentially it is taking everything learned in one year and compiling it into a single test, if the selected questions are not of your strongest suit then I suppose that means you fail at just the entire course, or at least that is how the test works…This standardization of knowledge is not standard by definition, by trying to rate the comprehension of material based upon three passages (AP Literature and Composition) or four free response essay questions (AP Government and Politics) does not truly prove someone knows the material. Essentially these exams come down to luck and excessive preparation.
It does not make sense to try and teach a class based upon a test, then the information is truncated and topical contingent upon what “can be covered on the test”. That is the sad part of all this, the removal of any human component from the system. Beginning education is not fueled by passion or desire to learn, or even just grade motivation within the school. Now everything is global a world wide competition to get the best score and now it is all about the test, to succeed on some insipid test at the end of the year for a number to show up on some document to some university…I suppose to some degree we are all just a number on a piece of paper.
Mr. Cynic
