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 Aptitude Tests and Social Inequities 
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Alright Ladies...go to pages 66-67 in the Big Test. The SAT is being critiqued and one of the arguments is that it tests a very narrow range of linguistic and academic abilities but is "marketed" as a measurement of the taker's intelligence. Here's where I cry foul. As someone who teaches students whose native language is not English, I can see clearly that any I.Q. test based on vocabulary knowledge, synonyms, antonyms and analogies puts non-native English speakers (readers) at a distinct disadvantage. And even native English speakers are at a disadvantage if they don't speak and read the English of the elite (aka test-makers).

Case in Point are two former students. (Go to the thread entitled "Testing Woes.") When they were administered the IQ test for placement in AIG and tracking, they both scored well below average. Yet, these kids had only been here a little over a year. I pleaded with guidance to track them with the "highest" group because their potential was obvious. They did. And these are the two students who received full scholarships to Berea College. They are both studying in Europe. These are the kids Chauncey's SAT is attempting to channel into "appropriate" colleges and work life based on scores. What if the test were in Spanish? I can't help but feeling outraged.

Read IQ Joe - Chapter 6. That's when we administer the draft deferment test to college students. If you don't make the cut, you're drafted into the military. If you don't go to college, you're drafted into the military. The test decides who fights (and dies) and who stays at home.

On page 77, Lemann writes, "..the push would always be to test more rather than to ponder the merits of testing, though that was supposed to be its job." Last paragraph. What was true back in the 1950's is still true today. I don't see the "powers that decidd" stepping back and reevaluating what testing is accomplishing and what testing is destroying.

One test. One group writes it, one group decides, and those that don't fit are foresaken.

Cindy

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Cindy Fowler

"Read it and weep!"


Thu Jan 26, 2006 12:49 pm
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Cindy, I empathize with you! Recently my ESL students were given a test to measure "progress" for funding purposes to continue the Even Start Grant. I asked to look at the tests and they are so unfair to this population of students. Unless I teach to the specific vocabulary test, they will continue to score poorly on this test for several years. In fact, the teacher in the toddler room also has to give this test to her ESL children. She went so far as to copy the test for their parents to study with their child at home...guess what? They still couldn't measure up to their native English speaking peers! I know this pertains to 2-5 year olds but the principal is the same. Can't the powers that be see we are doing an injustice to a large majority of our students? Even early on in THE BIG TEST, Brigman discounts his own work. I don't know what comes after that because that is as far as I have gotten. But I am anxious to get as far as what you have cited!

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Teresa Goodman

ALL STUDENTS DESERVE THE CREAM!


Sun Jan 29, 2006 4:33 pm
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Cindy, I completely agree with you. Not only are standardized tests, like the SAT unfair to ESL students, I feel that they are unfair to students who are poor test takers. For example, in my class I have a student who scored a 1 on the EOG reading pretest because she paniced, cried for an hour and didn't finish the test. This student is a child who loves to read and is currently reading on grade level. She is just not a test taker. Also, I am of the opinion that effort makes a huge impact on learning as well. I have a student in my class who could be making straight As. However, she does not apply herself and had a C on her last report card.
Furthermore, I feel that tests like the SAT do not measure things like problem solving skills.


Mon Jan 30, 2006 6:34 pm
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Cindy, I agree with all of you about this topic. I think it is ridiculous to base entry into a college on a test that was developed for military purposes. We live in a test driven society and it only continues to get worse. WHO or WHAT is going to stop it? We see our students every day worry about the EOG's, panic and score a 1 or a 2. This does not mean that they are not worthy, but our society tells them otherwise. Have you noticed that our higher ups leave us alone as long as test scores stay up there, but when students do not perform, they attack us as professional educators and repromand us like children? I have stopped worrying a long time ago about tests which are not the end all of school anyway.

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Penny Barnes


Mon Jan 30, 2006 9:46 pm
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I can only think about how administering the SAT for the first time has lead to the rise in testing for all. Even though our students don't take the SAT, the EOG is just a watered down version. If a student misbubbles, their score is affected and thus they are penalized...as well as the school. Once I had a student to skip all of the passages on the pretest in reading and just bubble in answers. (He couldn't read. ) He made a 4 on the pretest! Then, I had to have a conference with his parents to let them know that their child wasn't as "smart" as they thought. He ended up being LD :x and made a 1 on the test. How can we call this test accurate?

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Julie Little
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Blue Ridge Elementary


Wed Feb 01, 2006 11:14 am
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I also look at the other hand of tests, and the kids that are not on grade level, but can bubble in answers randomly and score a three. I am not in the upper grades and do not have to worry about the EOG, however I do use the K-2 Assessment. It is better though, becuase I can use my own judgement in children, and redo the test if I think it is not accurate. Maybe upper grades should do something similar to K-2 and the portfolio.

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Deborah Hess


Thu Feb 02, 2006 3:03 pm
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I am on board with you all! I get so angry when I think about the implications and consequences that go along with these tests. These tests also only look for one kind of "smart". Students that are artistically gifted are often left out when they do not perform well on these types of tests. I know how I felt as both a child and a teenager taking these tests, and I know how I felt when my teachers gave the scores back to us. I couldn't help but feel that this was a direct reflection on my worth. I know that if I felt that way, many others did as well. This test should have never been given the power that it has!

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Jamie Little


Thu Feb 02, 2006 3:59 pm
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