TAKS… what a joke!
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So, every student in grades 3-11 in the great State of Texas is required to take the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS henceforth). Sounds great at first, a test that if you fail it, you can’t graduate therefore making sure you learn stuff, right? WRONG! Now, instead of learning a curriculum, you spend the year preparing for TAKS unless you’re in higher level classes. So essentially, the students not in Advanced Placement (AP henceforth) or Dual-Credit college classes (DC henceforth) are being programmed for one thing, that thing being TAKS. Schools are rated on their students’ performance on TAKS. Districts that fail, can be dissolved.
What exactly is the State of Texas accomplishing with the TAKS test? Nothing but encouraging the programming of students instead of teaching. So some students don’t care about school, fine let them be left behind. Instead of helping education, “No child left behind” is crippling it more than helping. Some schools to get their students to actually want to pass are essentially bribing their students. For example, Waxahachie High School is offering an off period to Sophomores who pass all sections of the TAKS (English Language Arts [ELA henceforth], Math, Science, History). Then to both Sophomores and Juniors who pass all sections, four free 100 test grades in each class. And if that wasn’t enough if a student passes all sections of the TAKS and is placed in In-school suspension (ISS henceforth) one time, that ISS doesn’t keep them from being ineligible for exemptions of final exams. Back to the free 100 test grades. What this does in Pre-AP, AP, and DC classes is slash the range of grades. The students with A’s are barely helped at all, while students with low C’s are pushed up to high B’s. The TAKS test is the culprit! I say abolish the TAKS test! Abolish it! Standardized tests required to graduate are NOT the way to test whether students have actually been taught. It’s turned Texas education into programming instead of actual teaching! It should be stopped! Oh and on top of all that, the grading procedure for the short answer section of the ELA can pass or fail you. They say they reward insight and good analysis, but the masters of analysis, AP students, tend to do the WORST on that particular section. What happens if you are deathly ill on test day? Ha! You are either placed into TAKS remediation classes the next year OR you have to take it again during the summer. TAKS FAILS! The very ESSENCE of the TAKS test is a pile of horrible rubbish. The only section that is even competent is the math section because you can’t botch up answers on that, it’s either right or it’s left, I mean wrong. On other sections such as Science they’ll have questions where the answer CAN’T be one of the answers given, or two of the answers are so similar that you have essentially a 50/50 chance of getting it right even if you know science like the back of your hand. And then there are the questions on almost all sections that the answers are essentially given in the question. Some students still miss those. State of Texas, your TAKS test is FAIL to the nth power!
Tags: taks, haha, joke, fail, texas assessment of knowledge and skills
10 Comments
pra2
February 22nd, 2007
at 12:18am
Isnt this a technology blog?
katie Hobbs
March 6th, 2007
at 9:35am
I think that the TAKS is a wast of peoples time. I think it is very wrong and it should not be given.
J. E. Geissler
March 22nd, 2007
at 10:19am
I agree with most of your argument. You overlook, however, the premise that the TAKS was not only designed to boost the learning of all students, but also requires that teachers actually do their jobs at least some of the time. If a teacher is allowing the students to watch game films while he/she does during the class period rather than teaching economics, the students get A’s in economics and have only learned the best quarterback sneak play in the district.
The state also needs to waste money on printing tests, paying people to design tests and grading tests rather than pay school teachers a decent living wage. The state, therefore not only creates a beaurocracy, but also becomes “big brother” to the educational system, watching, number crunching and accusing school systems’ effectiveness.
TAKS, I guess, is a double edged sword!!!
swordofdestiny
April 2nd, 2007
at 7:53pm
J. E. Geissler:
I see what you are saying, but in all honesty you cannot judge the competency of an entire class of students through a test that in itself is full of errors. While it is bad if teachers do not teach, now a days teachers have to have detailed lesson plans, and if most schools are like mine, they have staff evaluations. I think what bugs me the most about the TAKS test is that it’s relatively easy for me. In all honesty, to devise a test to decide competency you would have to make a test that not only covers book intelligence, but also music intelligence, hunting intelligence, driving intelligence, technological intelligence, etc. You cannot say that someone is not competent because they can not add or subtract. They may not be good at most things, but with most people they have their own area that they excel in. I believe that schools should seek to find that area, and help bring it out in the individual. While I see that people need a basic fundamental understanding of math, language, history, and science to function in everyday life, they need other things, that schools neglect. Such as detecting a scam, protection of sensitive data, protecting their computer systems (most people have them) from malware so that they don’t spend $30 to have it be looked at and then anywhere from $50-150 more to have it cleaned up.
pra2: the name of my blog is swordofdestiny’s Idiocracies. Does it sound the least bit technical? O_o I guess I’m filling in a more non technological niche in the Nexus.
June Blodes
April 5th, 2007
at 11:48am
I think the TAKS test sucks, and no opne should have to take it. It’s just a way to get students to worry more during the school year.
Bobby Lou
April 5th, 2007
at 11:49am
IT SUCKS!!!!!!!!
Educated dad
April 9th, 2007
at 2:42pm
What this state should do, since they make decisions without the peoples vote. We the people of our great state of Texas, should rebel on this state. Before you ask or kids to take this stupid ass test. It should be given to overall all teachers to include our State Government Employees along with the above the law governor of ours. If neither of these personnel pass this TAKS Test, They should be removed from office and from teaching. Think of it people, If these so call leaders in our state want to enforce and pass this requirement, they should lead by example and take it. You fail, you lose your job or oust from office until you pass this test. Let’s see how these fools like the tables turned on them. Fair is fair, we put them in office, and we as the people of texas can demand them out or fix this problem. Don’t hurt our kids, and don’t bring their self-esteem down or hard work go to waste, because of a dum test.
joey colantuono
April 12th, 2007
at 6:37am
“TAKS” as you so call it is the BIGGEST joke ever..
its not disinged to help us its disinged to make us fail. i mean if they really wanted to help us they could give us a test with a smaller amout of catigories in which we r to no at that time.. because half the things on there
yodle smith
April 25th, 2007
at 9:22am
I think the taks test should not be given it puts way to much stress on young children!
yodle smitty
April 26th, 2007
at 9:08am
the TAKS tottaly suks c*ck