Persuasive Essay On Standardized Intelligence

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Intelligence has been defined in many different ways including ones capacity for logic, abstract thought, creativity, and problem solving. Standardized tests play a major role in education systems today. Although these tests do exemplify a student’s ability to read and write English, this test promotes “teaching to a test.” I have first handedly experienced this in my own life. Standardized tests undermine critical thinking and innovation and are not the best example of intelligence. Like many students, when taking my SAT’s, I was distressed that if my SAT scores were low, I was not intelligent. The anticipation had me waiting at 6 o’clock AM on the computer waiting for my scores. This feeling of guilt and failure washed over me as I looked …show more content…

Students do not get to express their understanding of the world or to even form their own opinions. Instead they are given a limited amount of time to dance the steps that are deemed important. In these tests there is only one right answer and no room to question or to think critically about them. The “whys” students have always wanted to ask are never answered on the test. If intelligence includes abstract thought, questioning, and creativity, then Standardized tests are in no way measuring students intelligence. Creativity isn’t a test to take or a skill to learn. Creativity is expressed in various ways like thinking about something in a different light, or the ability to create something on an empty canvas. The biggest flaw with the SAT is that crucial subjects like social studies, science, art, and music are brushed to the side while topics such as mathematics and English are elevated far above their real world relevance. A test that excludes all of the equally important subjects cannot possibly measure the holistic intelligence of a person. Standardized tests are the opposite of a test of intelligence. The goal of this test is not to find out how well you think through problems, the goal is to find out what you are able to memorize. Standardized tests are rather killing our creativity and our desire to ask questions, which are the roots

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