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May 10, 2004 I recently heard a very stirring argument against standardized testing, particularly the Advanced Placement United States History test. Of course, when I say stirring I mean absolutely disgusting and hope-killing in every way imaginable. It was absolutely scarring to listen to. It started off simply enough: a group of students, juniors fresh from the four-and-a-half hour long test, complaining about everything involving United States History. I could excuse this – I was a bit tired of it myself by the end. However, when discussion continued for almost two weeks, it got to be a bit sad. “The test was too complicated,” one student said to me, expecting my comforting words. “I don’t want to take it if I have to get a three to get the weight for my course. You shouldn’t have to get a three out of five to get weight. You should get weight simply for taking the course.” She spoke, of course, of adding .20 grade points onto your cumulative grade point average for scoring, well, average on the Advanced Placement test. Now, in her mind, she shouldn’t have to take the test at all. It seems the college test was too hard for her; there were too many multiple choice questions and she didn’t cover the French and Indian War in class. At this point I pulled my eyes out and put them in a blender. Allah forbid you should actually have to put some amount of work into a course designed to prepare you for college. The recent epidemic of most teenagers wanting things handed to them – college, scholarships, jobs, cars, video games, it doesn’t matter – disturbs me greatly. I don’t expect to get things handed to me. I believe that, in academics, each student should be judged and graded solely on their merits as a student. The Rooseveltian view of education, I suppose, but schools were created as havens of higher learning, not a place where you could be exempted from a Basic Skills Math & Verbal test if you complained loud and long enough. The Advanced Placement test is supposed to be tedious, complicated, and force you to do a lot of outside learning. Those who study up on U.S. History outside of the school often are the ones who score four and above. This is also true for life – those who put in the most independent study of a subject often do better. I fail to see where this came across as negative. My generation is made to believe that everyone is above average, that we are deserving of praise and credit simply for being ourselves. That kind of talk makes me gag. Those who get a one or two on the AP Test get that one or two for a reason – they are not good enough to score well. They do not know enough to score well. Of course, there are always just bad test takers, but this is always an exemption. I wish to spearhead an effort to stop babying students. You are not special just for being you, at least not in the eyes of the education system. You make yourself special by standing out academically. Those who expect life to be handed to them outside of High School are in for a sore, sore awakening. This leads me into my thoughts on Affirmative Action, but that’s a horse of a different color. No pun intended. We’ll discuss that one later. On a different note, I’d like to thank Mr. Michael John McCrae for his thought-provoking rebuttal to my Patriot Act column. It is nice to see people taking the initiative and making their voices heard. See you next column, lovers. (Heterosexual, of course. I want to keep that Conservative readership of mine.) ------------ About the author: Max Burns lives in Indianapolis and interns with the Indiana Democratic Party. He is the webmaster of The Foaming Liberal and author of the fantasy-fiction novel Alcardia. He is currently a junior at Lawrence North High School and is active in political clubs and associations. Email: MBurns_NS@hotmail.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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