Lobbying Blog #2: Yes or No

Kimberly BushOctober 22, 2010Joe Biden"A child is more then a test score. So how can you expect our students to build a new economy if all they are doing is filling out bubbles? How can you expect them to think critically if all we are doing is testing their ability to memorize things?"

- Joe Biden

   

According to Joe Biden,

“We know what we need to do, and its not No Child Left Behind. We have to stop focusing on test scores, a child is more than a test score.”

At the NEA (National Education Association) Convention, Biden spoke on Standardized Testing and Education in general. He believes that many things should be changed, such as:

• Class sizes
• Teacher Salary
• No Child Left Behind
• Focus on Test Scores
• Availability to an Education

Barack Obama“Creativity has been drained from classrooms, as too many teachers are forced to teach to fill-in-the-bubble tests...It just can’t dominate the curriculum to an extent where we are pushing aside those things that will actually allow children to improve and accurately assess the quality of the teaching that is taking place in the classroom.”

-Barack Obama

Obama doesn’t support the No Child Left Behind Law because he believes that it’s all talk but no action. The No Child Left Behind Law “leaves the money behind”. It takes away the creativity and the individuality of students and their teachers. Obama states that teachers should be able to teach instead of spending majority of the year preparing students to fill out bubbles on a test. Instead of just standard testing on Math, Reading, and Writing he will fund states to apply a broader variety of assessments such as:

• using technology
• conducting research
• engaging in scientific investigations
• solving problems
• presenting
• defending their ideas.

Chaka FattahFattah, when asked if he supported standardized testing, gave two perspectives. He believed that tests were needed to “analyze how students were doing in relation to other students,” however, he also believes that, “students should not be merely taught to pass examinations or given tests prematurely before they have been taught the information.”

According to Chaka Fattah, the No Child Left Behind Law is, “intellectually dishonest because it holds children accountable for test scores when their schools lack resources.”

My Views:

I guess you could say that I agree with those who believe that standardized testing is needed in schools. However, it should not be heavily weighed as a resource to test a student’s intelligence. How can you measure someone’s mind and abilities through a test? You can’t because memorizing and learning are two different things. There’s a distinction between understanding and remembering what you are told. You can be told one thing but this doesn’t mean that you actually understand the meaning behind that thing. Being a Senior in high school, I have a biased view against the Scholastic Aptitude Test because my GPA shows a higher degree of learning than the scores on that test. To get into a college, you should not be based off of how many bubbles you’ve filled out correctly but by the actual grades you get in high school.  Either way, there needs to be a change on how we assess the future of our world.

If we don’t change today, than what will we learn tomorrow?

Sources:

http://glassbooth.org/explore/index/joe-biden/2/education/14/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg4PbJs6N3k&feature=player_embedded#!

http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Barack_Obama/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktC_C7Z-wWE&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9EkX_gX6R8&feature=player_embedded

http://www.votesmart.org/npat.php?can_id=21850#Result

http://www.ucc.org/justice/public-education/transforming-no-child-left.html