Have we passed by the need for standarized tests?

Ever actually wonder where the fill-in-the bubble tests came from? We take them on many occasions. SAT, PSAT, final exams, midterms, and AP Exams are a few. Well the concept of filling in the bubbles was originated back in 1914! Almost a hundred years later and we still use Frederick Kelly's invention. This Washington Post article by Cathy N. Davidson posed an interesting question to the current day's Information Age. I agree with Davidson that we have the ability to change how we measure students' success today. The standardized test only addresses a few kinds of knowledge that students learn in school. I found it extremely interesting that many teachers are leaving their professions because of the mandate of standardized tests. We have all this digital technology available and it only continues to grow. Why shouldn't students be able to utilize it and learn about the ways to navigate it instead of sitting in on timed exams, racing to bubble in as many answers as we can?


Cathy N. Davidson convinces the audience with a widespread use of techniques. She establishes the history of origin of standardized tests and the inventor, Frederick J. Kelly. The background information on Frederick J. Kelly helps to establish a common knowledge for the audience. Davidson also discusses the issues that low-income families and foreign students face in these multiple choice tests, giving them disadvantages. An example that Davidson uses to support her opinion is the company IBM, who have almost half of their employees working through an online program, that does not need nor benefit from an education with standardized testing. Davidson's strongest line that defined her opinion was, "Multiple-choice exams do not equip kids for either the information avalanche or the fine print that they encounter online every day," (Davidson). In her Washington Post article, Davidson challenges the need for multiple choice tests in the modern day, where students should be learning about how to use the digital technology of the age.


Source: Davidson, Cathy N.. "Standardized tests for everyone? In the Internet age, that’s the wrong answer.." The Washington Post 23 Sept. 2011, sec. Opinions: n. pag. The Washington Post. Web. 25 Sept. 2011.

Mass. government not giving up on high school drop-outs

This article by Adrian Walker in the Boston Globe brought up the issue of raising the age for high school dropouts. Did you know that 37% of the high school students in Boston do not graduate from high school? In the past, drop-outs would work on farms or small pay production jobs. But, we are living in the twenty-first century, where dropping out of high school isn't that simple. Dropping out means giving up on most chances of a decent jobs, and higher chances of poverty,  jail time, and unemployment. I agree with Walker, and the two men proposing the petition, John Connolly and Tito Jackson, that if teenagers aren't allowed to vote, drink, or smoke at the age of sixteen, we should certainly not be allowed to drop out of high school and give up on our lives. Teenagers should be required to finish high school and receive the diploma that will open up so many more opportunites in life.

Adrian Walker supports his article with forms of evidence and appealing to the legislative people behind the proposal. There are numerous quotes from Tito Jackson and John Connolly, who are the Boston City Councilors behind the petition. They have done their research by visiting numerous schools and taking note of what causes children as young as twelve to want to drop out, giving them credibility. Walker also uses the statistic of a high school dropout's income from Northeastern's Center for Labor Market studies that gives the audience a view of what the financial life of a drop-out is like. Martha Walz, a Democratic Representative, is another person behind the legislation that Adrian Walker includes for evidence. One line in the article that shows Walker's opinion is when he says,
"Lawmakers deserve credit for forgetting the casino debate long enough to focus on this complex issue. Figuring out how to support kids who are ready to give up on school would be a huge achievement," (Walker). This shows that Walker thinks the legislation is taking the right steps to help drop-outs, but that he also believes it to be a daunting task. Adrian Walker's "Don't quit on dropouts" writes about the government change to keep kids in school until they turn eighteen.

Source: Walker, Adrian . "Don't quit on dropouts." The Boston Globe 24 Sept. 2011, sec. Metro: n. pag. Boston.com. Web. 24 Sept. 2011.