As this article reveals, states have encouraged schools to add end of year exams to their programs.  The states feel that these tests will provide a better read on whether schools around a state are actually meeting knowledge-based goals in the classroom.  It would be a great way to see if an “A” really means mastery of the subject.  But critics charge, just another standardized test…

I think the test, if written properly, is a wonderful idea.  Not enough students take AP exams, and if teachers added the result of this end of course exam into the grade for the student, students would have the proper incentive to do well, and teachers would do well to pay attention to the content of the test.

What is wrong with charting whether students really are mastering subjects in high school before they move on to college?  This information could actually supplement grades and decrease pressure on SAT and ACT scores.  Standardized testing is not all bad or evil; how we test is really the big question, and it is nice to see some states moving closer in the right direction.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 17th, 2008 at 12:39 pm and is filed under For Educators, For Parents, For Students. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.