Should Victorian High Schools Repeal VCE Exams High school students face a stressful and strenuous time and are challenged by the vigorous preparation for VCE exams. The ‘do or die’ VCE exams that student face is a crisis time for them, instead of thinking about their graduation. Expecting students to take these exams is unfair due to its numerous reasons of unfairness and should not take place. The Victoria school board should repeal these exams. Students do not learn in the same, they are individuals. Thankfully for society, students bring to schools all kinds of intellect. Some students excel academically, others are artistic talents and other have vocational talents that VCE exams do not take into consideration or measure. The focus of my arguments for repealing VCE exams is that: Necessary funding for schools consistently rears its ‘ugly head’ and these exams prove to be very expensive and I believe, very much a waste of money. The money could be better spent on school materials like books, computers, and other necessary supplies. The allocated A study conducted by Charles Rooney a member of the National Center for Fair and Open testing states that, "[More than 275 colleges and universities across the United States, acting on the belief that "test scores do not equal merit," do not use the SAT or the ACT to make admissions decisions about some part or all of their freshmen.]" What do these exams prove except that they are educationally an injustice? However, I believe the truest form of assessment comes from the classroom teachers who guide the students and their learning. The generalised tests like the Sacs through the year should give adequate information that a student has learnt well the subject. Teachers are capable of understanding and demonstrating which students require additional study time and they can also gain awareness of what improvements are needed within the
Since this test has been devised, the number one question everybody is asking is, “ isn’t it unfair to base a student’s entire future on one test, when he or she simply could have had a bad day when taking the test”? The president Kirk T. Schroder of the Virginia Board of Education, answer this question by saying, “First of all, these tests are untimed, so no student is under arbitrary time pressure in taking the test.
“Colleges and Universities That Do Not Use SAT/ACT Scores for Admitting Substantial Numbers of Students Into Bachelor Degree Programs” Fairtest.org. Spring 2014. Web. 19 May 2014.
These flawed tests are not truly able of measuring students how well students will perform in college as they are supposedly used to predict. A single test that students have to wake up for at six, seven in the morning on a Saturday and travel to some random location to take a difficult test should not impact the student's chance of getting into college, let alone predict how well they will
So, using these long multiple choice exams are what college’s consider to be a reflection of a student’s grades during their first year at college. The test maker itself explains that grade point averages during high school paint a better picture than their tests ("The ACT: Biased, Inaccurate, and Misused" 1). College’s use these standardized tests as a quick measure of ability. However, a test cannot explo...
Students should not have to take a test just to enter in to college because students are more than a test score, they are people too. Why are students compared with a test score that – more often than not - does not reflect their academic ability? These tests are biased because people write the questions and, therefore, they can make the question wordy and choose which ones to omit (Pollard). These test do not measure a person’s intelligence; rather, their test taking ability. As proof, the ACT science portion of the test do not pertain to science knowledge at all; rather, it ...
At the state level, a new role in large-scale testing was started in the 1970’s. Several states added that students pass the tests to graduate or be promoted to the next grade level. In the year 1975, two states added the new role...
Colleges put a lot of focus and emphasis on standardized test scores. Colleges think standardized tests test the true knowledge of a person. The makers of the ACT say the ACT is not an aptitude or an IQ test. It is said that standardized test questions are directly related to what students have learned in their high school
Lyndsey Layton has been covering nation education since 2011, she has written on many different topics in education, and has been employed by the Washington Post since 1998. In her article about standardized testing she states, “...students should be judged by multiple measures, including student work, written teacher observations and grades. And they overwhelmingly think teacher quality is the best way to improve education, followed by high academic standards and effective principals.” (Layton pg.1). This quote shows that standardized tests only judge certain measures of a student's intelligence. Students should be graded in multiple areas not just how well they can answer multiple choice problems. Standardized tests only grade students on one way of thinking and discourage creative, out of the box thinking. Kira Zalan is an editor for the U.S. News Weekly, she first appeared in September of 2011, and has been writing since. Zalan states, “...there are multiple paths to the same outcome and that engagement is an extremely important aspect of the equation.”(Zalan pg.1). Standardized tests only allow for one path of thinking. There can be multiple different ways to find an answer, but if students do not answer the “correct” way they will be graded as wrong. Because these tests are graded by machines and not people, the participants answers
Baker, M (2010) Are Exams Really Getting Easier? [Internet], UK, BBC. Available from: [Accessed 2nd January 2012]
Rejection. A word that I despise; and is something that has happened to me so many times in so many different ways. One of those ways was being rejected from one of my many college choices because my SAT scores did not reach their requirements. “Why apply?” you may ask, although my SAT scores did not meet their requirements, everything else on my application was perfect. I had great grades in high school, I volunteered many times; both inside and outside of school, I always helped around in my school administration whenever help was needed, and I always dedicated a month of my summer just to help my school give out the school books to students and sell the school uniforms. Doing all those things and being rejected made me feel like I was nothing; like what I did in my school life was all a waste. After taking all of those things into consideration, I still got rejected because of my SAT scores; which is why I genuinely believe that colleges should admit students using criteria other than their SAT scores.
It will also help understand how effectively students apply their knowledge as well as helping teachers become aware of the students’ readiness for postsecondary education. The strengths of this assessment will signify whether students are ready to enter and succeed in entry-level higher education coursework in reading, writing or mathematics without the need for remediation courses. “This trend is gaining steam nationwide to help students prepare for success while they are still in high school, streamline overall testing systems and make postsecondary education and workforce expectations more transparent” (Brown and Conley, 2007; Conley, 2003; Education Trust, 2007; Education Week, 2007; Goldrick-Rab and Mazzeo, 2005; Le, Hamilton & Robyn, 2000; Venezia and Kirst, 2004). The student performance on tests influences the nature of the content measured; “the rigor and complexity of the test questions; the performance standards (also known as “cut scores”); the alignment of content standards, local curriculum and teaching with the assessment; and students’ opportunity to learn the tested material” (Postal, L, 2016). Furthermore, it is not possible to presume that EOC assessment has any consistent or predictable influence on how many students will meet the state
The solutions to improve our educational system is one, stop using students for international competition. Instead of competing against other countries, we should learn from each other and help each other improve. Two, our standardized testing scores should also not be depended on for funding, which can stop the process of “Teaching the Test”. Our educational system can improve if the system stops focusing on numbers and more about our education.
There is added pressure to schools to get better scores which adds pressure to the educators and the students. The added pressure can cause health problems with the students or the educators. If health problem come from the stress of the tests it could negatively affect the student’s ability to learn (Pros and Cons, 2013). The test itself is a problem as well. The test is supposed to be unbiased based on the grade level but in most cases the test is not. As much as they try...
“What makes a child gifted and talented may not always be good grades in school, but a different way of looking at the world and learning.” That’s what the senior United States Senator from Iowa Chuck Grassley once said. When students get a “F” on their exam, that does not necessary means they are stupid, or they do not know the material. It could only mean they have a different way of learning, or a different way of explaining the material which the teacher is not aware of. There are different ways of learning that students have, and there are different ways they apply their knowledge into real life. Therefore, grades are not the best way to judge the students’ standing in their classes, nor is it the best way to judge their learning process. In addition,
On a final note, the time is ripe for all concerned to take a step back and re-assess the real benefits of examinations. It is an exigent circumstance which we are in. As society evolves and technology advances, there is much more to education than simply monotonously memorizing the bare facts of the world. The globalised world of today requires our children to embrace the earth and be innovative. Creativity fuels the innovation engine, with examinations, it is difficult to see how the imaginative aspects of their minds can be developed. One can envision the miserable world our future generations will thrive in, if no steps are taken to keep up with the present day’s needs. We cannot allow ourselves to be entrenched in deeply traditional methods, antiquated values no longer function in this day and age.