Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: One teen’s standardized testing horror story (and where it will lead) [View all]
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)1. Education now about profit for testing companies. And test-scoring companies. And Billionaires.
Edit history
Please sign in to view edit histories.
168 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
RecommendedHighlight replies with 5 or more recommendations
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
RecommendedHighlight replies with 5 or more recommendations
One teen’s standardized testing horror story (and where it will lead) [View all]
proud2BlibKansan
Nov 2012
OP
Education now about profit for testing companies. And test-scoring companies. And Billionaires.
madfloridian
Nov 2012
#1
"then no universities won't drop Journalism as a major until they absolutely must."
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#28
you can presume all you like; it's not grammatical, and the problem isn't just a
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#57
LOL and you worked in the field, criticized some 18-year old's blog post, and your comment is shoddy
CreekDog
Nov 2012
#139
journalism isn't just about reporting, and while there are way less jobs than there
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#54
essay grading on standardized tests is an assembly line process. no "many" about it.
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#156
i can vouch for that. you use a rubric with certain points you look for. the kid can use
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#155
He makes it pretty clear that the focus of his coursework was on test prep,
proud2BlibKansan
Nov 2012
#9
oh bull. there's plenty of kids/people who don't test well, for various reasons, but
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#38
do they give standardized tests to judge appearance & cooking? i had no idea.
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#87
In high school, my calculus teacher would tear his hair out because I did so poorly on tests
Luminous Animal
Nov 2012
#48
It's not good form to make readers guess what AP means either. "Schools hard and boring", not shit.
xtraxritical
Nov 2012
#58
The kid didn't write it for WAPO readers. He wrote it on his blog, for an audience
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#157
I care because I care deeply about education, its role in society, and that future.
harmonicon
Nov 2012
#166
test prep classes don't inspire anyone. classes of the type the student praised, do.
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#167
Expecting to write essays and developing writing skills are NOT mutually exclusive.
silhouete2
Nov 2012
#29
Thank you for that. My high school AP classes not only addressed a well constructed essay but a well
Luminous Animal
Nov 2012
#52
if it's so sure-fire, why did he do poorly in english? but for my money, writing
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#31
lol. "developed better writing skills in college". i've done essay grading/norming
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#37
Well, I went on for art and was lucky to have some writers as teachers.
Starry Messenger
Nov 2012
#94
i wasn't being snarky about learning better writing skills in college. i thought it was
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#154
i didn't notice any in the excerpt (except for the other one in the same section, as noted
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#158
Exactly, when in a class do what the teacher wants. When employed do what the employer wants.
xtraxritical
Nov 2012
#55
Why would it not have passed muster in your journalism classes back in the 1960s? It's a personal
coalition_unwilling
Nov 2012
#65
Subject matter has nothing to do with it...style and grammar, everything.
Sekhmets Daughter
Nov 2012
#97
Well, I can see that textual criticism is not your forte, to put it mildly. Singh's piece
coalition_unwilling
Nov 2012
#144
OMG. You tell me there are numerous errors, & that's the kind of BS you come up
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#160
it's funny that you, the uber writing critic, are ignorant of the theme, the discussion, etc.
CreekDog
Nov 2012
#142
i criticized you NOT because i thought Singh's post was brilliant or error-free, by no means
CreekDog
Nov 2012
#146
If he wasn't capable of college-level work, he shouldn't have been in the AP class.
Romulox
Nov 2012
#6
Yes indeed I did. The young man does not appear prepared for college-level course work.
Romulox
Nov 2012
#12
Nope. Not at the level he describes. He needs to APPLY that basic level of skill to earn AP
Romulox
Nov 2012
#42
I've taken every level of english class that exists and supposedly am in the top 1%
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#50
no problem, i'll just put you on ignore. no great loss in missing the posts of some
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#72
For someone who places in the "top 1%" they sure have a strange writing style.
joshcryer
Nov 2012
#159
then he was obviously judged capable of higher level work, or he wouldn't have gotten
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#33
that's his beef. the class didn't *do* the higher-level work. it was a test-prep
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#45
lol. the central theme is quite clear, and the grammar is fine (at least in the excerpt) but
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#49
Um, try reading *the piece*, rather than excerpt. This is a discussion about that piece,
Romulox
Nov 2012
#69
Congratulations, exboyfil, for figuring this out. Slowly, the word is getting out.
antigop
Nov 2012
#134
Standardized testing is not only for AP kids and college bound kids. You start in 3rd grade in MA.
Mass
Nov 2012
#13
Just to be clear: to get the AP credit, you must pass the AP test. Then you take the SAT.
Romulox
Nov 2012
#15
100% relevant. If the kid wants learning qua learning, AP class ain't the place.
Romulox
Nov 2012
#40
AP classes are not -- or didn't use to be -- test prep classes. AP classes began
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#41
AP classes are held at high schools, not "elite colleges". You may be thinking of a different
Romulox
Nov 2012
#70
The wiki link does support the idea that those who fail to earn the credits are poorly served
Romulox
Nov 2012
#74
And in post #67 I list the score distributions. LOTS of students don't get college credit. nt
antigop
Nov 2012
#131
the guy is saying that there wasn't any analysis of themes and characters in the class.
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#44
that's a different issue. i think it would be an unusual class -- & a pretty useless
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#53
Can't help it, but this makes me think of National Lampoon's 1974 Stupid Aptitude Test
eridani
Nov 2012
#82
and a lot of the questions are poorly written. The student can make the case for several answers.nt
antigop
Nov 2012
#92
If your child can test out of a semester's worth of introductory level courses, it's worth it.
FarCenter
Nov 2012
#62
See post #67 for the score distribution on AP English. Low percentage of students will get credit.
antigop
Nov 2012
#91
With AP credits and a couple of summer sessions, my daughter got her BS in three years.
FarCenter
Nov 2012
#96
And how much did she enjoy her high school years? How much stress was she under? n/t
antigop
Nov 2012
#99
She had a ball, and she enjoyed a number of extracurricular activities and sports
FarCenter
Nov 2012
#104
I'll bet she was under a tremendous amount of stress and she lost a year of her youth n/t
antigop
Nov 2012
#106
College students have more time off than others who go to work out of high school and get 2 weeks.
FarCenter
Nov 2012
#105
Well, she spent another 3 years getting a professional degree -- does that count as youth?
FarCenter
Nov 2012
#107
I'll repeat --- at least 40% of the test takers did not get college credit. n/t
antigop
Nov 2012
#111
A 60% chance of getting a college credit is worth about $1700, while the test costs $89.
FarCenter
Nov 2012
#113
What percent of freshmen who try out for football make it to the varsity squad as seniors?
FarCenter
Nov 2012
#116
Since you dismissed a sports analogy with academics, I replied with an academic analogy.
FarCenter
Nov 2012
#136
As much as 60% of the students PAID FOR THE TEST and didn't get credit. FAIL n/t
antigop
Nov 2012
#126
Maybe because DIDN'T LEARN ANYTHING in the AP classes or are too burned out from them n/t
antigop
Nov 2012
#130
And I still feel sorry for your daughter, losing a year of her youth, probably stressed out and lost
antigop
Nov 2012
#121
and it's only a 60% "CHANCE" -- even a score of "4" or "5" will not guarantee credit.
antigop
Nov 2012
#115
See post #67 for the score distribution on AP English. Low percentage of students will get credit.
antigop
Nov 2012
#93
Writing essays leads to greater rigor and organization of thought than discussion
FarCenter
Nov 2012
#60
Learning to write an in-class essay is an important skill he'll need in college.
LeftyMom
Nov 2012
#63
AP is mostly just a cash cow for the testing company. Take a look at the score distribution here
antigop
Nov 2012
#67
good catch. invalidates some of the other criticisms made, as his audience wasn't
HiPointDem
Nov 2012
#89
In what universe would a 40% failure rate be considered a good idea? See post #67.
antigop
Nov 2012
#95
I feel sorry for the kids whose parents force them to put up with this stress. n/t
antigop
Nov 2012
#129
