Public High school students aren't able to fully thrive to be able to compete due to the new standardized tests for each course subject in Florida.
The Who: public high school students
The what: aren't able to fully thrive or prepare for college
The why: teaching curriculums are focused to be able to pass course exams
After talking with 5 individuals it can be summarized that The Who does not only pertain to high school students. 2 out of the 5 people I interviewed were high school professors and they stated how limiting and lack of control they have with the curriculum. They also compared it to what they learned when they were in high school compared to what they have to teach now and it is not on the same level. I also talked to a parent who noticed the same thing when she helps her children do homework. Also spoke to a college professor who said that she notices the variety in education amongst students who went to certain schools. Lastly, after speaking to 2'students they also stated that they aren't learning as much as they used to. They stated that they can see the comparison as well amongst out of state students as well as those who went to private school. Moreover, it can be assumed that this might extend earlier than high school but rather into middle school and elementary eventually.
Furthermore after speaking to the 5 individuals, primarily the professors, it has come to my attention that there are some material that was completely new to students. So the goal of the standardized tests was to boost, the education levels for an abundant amount of schools that were below reading and comprehension levels for their grades. However, it is harping on concepts that most individuals were doing before. As a result, I do feel like there needs to be an updated system, to better counter balance the lower education level. This can be noticed also as Florida currently ranks number #46 from K-12.
Hey Dave, I'm not a huge fan of standardized tests either, but it raises the question; how do we test what people claim to know? I like that you interviewed primarily professors for your piece, who better understands the pain of standardized tests better than they do. One thing that interests me are the possible alternatives to these tests. Perhaps something to caters much more closely to the content being taught, i.g. someone fixing a broken server who is studying for a network management degree. Good post!
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