Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Standarized Exams

I'm currently studying for the FTCE Exam which is a subject area exam for Teaching in the State of Florida. Well...as you can tell, I've taken a break to write and I've nearly just begun.

I despise standardized exams with a great passion. I have great disdain towards schools and institutions that rate you based on your SAT, GRE, GMAT, PSAT, LSAT score or any other standardized exams.

Why do I feel so adamant about this? I am a terrible standardized exam tester. I can ace an exam in a heartbeat within the classroom, but place me for 4+ hours in a sterile room with a calculator, pencil and paper (or a computer nowadays) with a supervisor that hates that fact that he/she is there, and you've created a disaster situation for me. You never really know what to study, and you stress out regardless....not to mention it's soooooo long!

I think a student should be "graded" by your GPA score. Why? Because that shows longevity and consistency over a period of time. It shows that there was a lot of time and energy put into making it as high as possible. But standardized exams?!?!? I know people who are brilliant, but lazy in the classroom and never do any homework. They have low grades and an even lower GPA, but when they take a standardized exam, they get high scores! That's so frustrating.

On a different note, I really hope I pass this the first time so I don't have to take this 4 hour and 20 minute exam again. Just thought I could vent at the same time =p

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