Opposition: Is This Really Necessary? Since this system allows students to be able to attend the school they want, overcrowding of colleges could be an issue. Many students may want to go to the same college making it hard to allow students to take the classes they want or need. There would be no point of a system like this if it becomes impossible to schedule classes due to the number of students. Even if all students could choose the school they want, T. Kelleghan states that,” …test constructors build their tests on the assumption that all students have a common culture and have had equal opportunity to learn while attending schools with a common curriculum,” (T. Kelleghan, 1982 p. 3-4). Based on this fact, a system like this would not …show more content…
On the ACT, students need to have reading, math, science, English, and writing skills. Though the skills would not be completely taken away from school, by not having to take classes that prepare students for these standardized tests, it would take away stress from students and teachers. Even though classes could be added to assist with real world skills, it may only need to be one class each year, then college would pick up where high school left off. This system would provide students with necessary life skills with less …show more content…
Though issues like overcrowding, equal stress levels, and inevitable learning of skills through college arise, this system would be best suited to give students equal opportunities. By making the ACT or SAT have less of a weight on college admission and then taking away classes preparing for it, students can attend their desired schools, have less stress, and have the opportunity to learn life skills. It is time to allow all students to reach their academic potential by allowing them to attend the school they will be most happy at. America is a country that has been striving for equality in many areas. Educational equality should be included. By implementing this system in schools, educational equality will be easier to achieve and students will learn and grow to be well-rounded and productive members of
For one thing, weighting grades gives students and colleges the ability to examine a more accurate comparison of students from various schools with varying course schedule difficulties (Clinedinst). The thing is, these benefits mainly aid the gifted, college bound students in that it makes them stand out. This brings the opposition of weighted GPAs to argue that the actual weighting does not provide an equal playing field. J. Bravin argues in his book, The Executive Educator, that “The traditional reporting method, assigning grades of A, B, C, D, and F to student work, discourages college-bound students from electing to take classes that require rigorous effort… and leads to an inconsistent standard” (40). Since weighted GPAs lead to inequalities, educators around the country have protested traditional reporting methods, saying things similar to, “The only ones being penalized by not having weighted grades are our students” (Cognard
The idea of freedom and equal opportunity that America was built on has sadly been lost and replaced with a system of quality education only being accessible by the wealthy. In-state college tuition should be free for all students meeting admission requirements, allowing students from the full spectrum of economic backgrounds to have the same opportunity to receive the same education. The incidence of poverty in the U.S. is directly linked to educational level. When a college degree is earned, income levels rise (College Board). The best use of federal government anti-poverty funds is not another welfare or assistance program; it is to make college education affordable for everyone.
... a tedious process, but the change can have immense, positive effects for the future college student. The ACT and SAT that supposedly measure a student's learning potential through multiple-choice questions should be replaced by a test of a student's desire to learn determined through the analysis of essays, recommendation letters, and school or community involvement. This change can result in a more academically motivated freshman class. Standardized testing in its current form does not accurately measure most students' learning potential. It does not allow for diversity and creates a huge hurdle for many potential academic achievers. An adjustment to a diverse, open testing format of the ACT or SAT and a stress on the student's other academic accomplishments can accurately measure the student's desire to learn, therefore measuring the student's learning potential.
According to Trade Schools, Colleges and Universities “Many of America's top-performing high school students never apply to the most challenging colleges and universities even though they have the ability to succeed at them. They often come from minority and low-income households and end up pursuing more affordable, less-selective schools instead.” College can be a burden to many students in a variety of different ways, but the most common reason is due to funds. Making college free for students will help this problem by increasing jobs in the work industry that require degrees, they should be affordable to all people at all cost, as well as the funds should be completely cut off because it would increase jobs and help America's economy grow.
According to Robert Jackson in . “Retooling education: Testing and the Liberal Arts” Colleges who changed their admission by making the SAT optional have directed their aims into a more high school grade based admission. This solution is the only true measurement we have at the moment and it is a better measurement than the SAT states Robert Jackson. The writer also goes on to say scholastic aptitude should be abolished, as it has no true value or indicator of student’s ability. A more precise measurement based on four years of schoolwork is a pretty good indicator of student’s ability. It gives equal playing field for all students from their freshmen year in high school until their senior year in high school. Students have equal opportunities to perform giving them four years to accomplish good grades for college admissions. this method gives unprivileged students the opportunity to go to college who previously could not attend college because of SAT Prep cost. Also this method benefits college admissions by providing an indicator on how students will perform in college classes making it easy to admit or deny
Almost every person who has graduated from high school has taken the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), which is generally used for college admissions. We all remember the stress of taking a test that could affect our future educational plans. Now due to the “No Child Left Behind Act” of 2001, this kind of test is now being administered to children from the 3rd to 8th grades as a way to determine if the school or teachers are educating them properly. High-stakes standardized tests of this nature should not be used to determine the educational abilities of either schools or the teachers.
Scholastic achievement and learning are the main purposes for colleges and universities. Accordingly, students should be rewarded for their superior academic achievement. Take for example two students of the same economic standing. Tim is a straight A student while Josh commonly receives C's and D's. If both students were to be admitted into the same college and apply for a scholarship, they would be treated equally under the system in which scholarships are given out on the basis of financial need alone. This is not fair to the student who studied day and night. Tim has proven that he is capable of superior scholastic achievement and learning, which are the main purposes of colleges and universities. Josh has not shown this, but under the proposed system, he may be awarded a scholarship instead of Tim.
I believe there are some problems with this plan. I believe that the children that exceed the standards are left behind. When my daughter entered the sixth grade she was ready for Algebra 1. The school felt that only eight graders should take algebra 1. Their reasoning was that in the seventh and eighth grade they would not have a math for her to complete. Due to this reasoning, I feel, they decided to leave my child behind. My daughter was taken out of the public school and placed in a private school. In the private school she was able to exceed at her learning capabilities. Today she is attending CFCC as a full time student. This is her second semester. She carries thirteen credits this semester, with a 4.0 grade average. My daughter is thirteen years old. She shall receive her A.A. degree by the time she is fourteen. I believe if she had been left in the public school, she would of been held back from her abilities.
For most young Americans, college has always been preached to them as being a vital part to their success in the adult world; but as they reach this educative rite of passage many find they must take out inflated loans, work part time jobs, or even become dissuaded entirely due to the exorbitant costs of higher education. We must forsake this current antiquated system in favor of government subsidized tuition. Therefore, college education must be free because of its benefit to the economy, creation of equal opportunity, and the resolution of the student loan crisis.
College life is a journey taken by many high school graduate in effort to explore a higher form of education, and most importantly build a new life outside the boundaries of their families to sustain a long path of toward successful career and to some, building a new family of their own. In the United State we are blessed with an education system that is never available worldwide. Laws are placed to allow every students regardless of ethnicity, gender or class a chance to pursue education in among the most prestigious universities in the world such as Ivy League school as well as many large public universities with many programs. This vast number of education institutions available of every type of students create this big diversity leading the U.S. to be the frontrunner of education in the world.
Many of the unresolved issues of substandard education, segregated neighborhoods, broken families, economic disadvantages and social inequalities continue to contribute to the poor performance rate of young African-Americans on the SAT’s and other required college entry exams. Regrettable, SAT’s and other standardize test have become ritualistic and institutionalize; cemented in the impenetrable walls of higher education. Universities and colleges depend on these “gatekeepers” to maintain the privileged class and to cherry pick the “crème of the crop”. This covert system of selection was never intended for all, but designed to maintain social stratification, create caste systems and marginalize certain groups of people from fair competition.
High school students begin in kindergarten preparing for tests; to make it to the next level you have to make a certain score. Pressure is forced upon many students when they begin sophomore year; they begin to ponder the thoughts of college and life after high school. Once they have planned out their school, major, and work life after college, the school counselor plans a meeting to discuss the ACT. Students begin to be worried and anxious about grades and tests; all of these stressed students do not realize they have been passing test after test to score a good enough grade to get into college, where they will begin to take test after test to graduate college and even after college, these students will still be tested within their workforce. The ACT is taken multiple times by individual students to get into college. They test and worry to get the score needed to get into college to test and worry more. College is not needed to maintain a good occupation, however many people recommend attending college. Students do not spend many years preparing for college; students spend many years preparing for tests, particularly the ACT which gets a student into college. The ACT is one of the most important tests a student sees during high school. After high school it might be the bar examination, which is then more important than the ACT, but first you must score well enough on the ACT, or you will never get the opportunity to take the bar
American education will never be truly equal because of the existence of three various goals of American education: democratic equality, social efficiency, and social mobility. Because of these goals, schools, parents, and students can have vastly different view of how someone should be educated. People who view education with the goal of democratic equality and social efficiency view education as a way to get ahead. In contrast, people who view education with the goal of social mobility are trying to keep their position at the top by using any means necessary such as having children attend the best schools to get the best jobs, or to obtain tutors to place their children at the top. In society, there exists strong social class decision that create for an unequal means of education, and social class decision generally determine the education obtained.
The achievement gap is greatly evident and impacts the low-income, minority students the most. Although the federal government attempted to resolve this problem with No Child Left Behind, the social problem is still evident. As there is still much pressure on standardized tests and annual reports, reformation is needed. No Child Left Behind has proven to be inadequate and rather highlights the urgency for education reform. Although the act is called “No Child Left Behind,” an appropriate title would have been “Education Left Behind.” More than focusing on test scores, education should prepare students in how to contribute to
America is a blessed country in numerous ways, and its citizens reap the benefits. Free education is one major benefit that not many other countries provide for their citizens. While it is only a privilege to many, but in the States, people have the right to be educated. However, free education cannot be translated to success for all. For those motivated ones who cherish the privilege to be educated are those who climb up the success ladders later in life. For a certain majority of students in the States, our current educational system may not seem to serve its purpose. In this paper, I will explore two possible adjustments that could be made to improve our system to benefit our next generation. Academic improvement and class size reduction are the two adjustments that I will elaborate on.