On Monday 2/22/10 I went to the writing lab for the first time just to get some overall help with my argument and to make sure that the points I was making were also clear to my audience. I met with a student who helped me see a lot of good things about my paper, but also the things that could use a little work. She pointed out that my thesis was actually coming across as two totally seperate arguments and some of my body paragraphs didn't really fit with my arguments directly. She also helped me with addressing the author in the paper and how to properly do that. Then she helped me see that my opening paragraph didn't include all of the points I was trying to make and I had to do some revising there. So, I was able to take this constructive criticism and better my paper. I now have a much stronger thesis and more manageable paragraphs to make the paper more "reader friendly". I actually have started to enjoy writing this paper because its fun to take your origional writing and learn about the flaws and see where there's room for imporovment and I feel like with this paper I'm really given enough time to do that.
Overall I think my final draft is going to be much stronger, more thought out, and very clear in the message I"m trying to portray. I'm really glad I decided to go to the writing lab and I have already suggested it to some of my friends taking writing courses.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
In Class Writing
Dear Dr. Williams,
Comparing two seemingly unlike topics is a confusing and risky road to take if you're trying to persuade your audience to side with your beliefs. In your August 2002 article “Nazi Tactics” you’re off your mark in stating that the way the Nazis in Germany treated Jews is similar to the way American’s today treat smokers. Dr. Walter E. Williams, an established economics professor and multi-degree graduate from a wide variety of universities in the United States professed that around 40million American’s do smoke today(par. 4) which can be compared to the number of Germans that killed Jews in the holocaust. Saying that people who smoke are looked at the same as the Nazis in Germany is a completely outrageous claim. Smokers are by far seen in a friendlier light.
Comparing two seemingly unlike topics is a confusing and risky road to take if you're trying to persuade your audience to side with your beliefs. In your August 2002 article “Nazi Tactics” you’re off your mark in stating that the way the Nazis in Germany treated Jews is similar to the way American’s today treat smokers. Dr. Walter E. Williams, an established economics professor and multi-degree graduate from a wide variety of universities in the United States professed that around 40million American’s do smoke today(par. 4) which can be compared to the number of Germans that killed Jews in the holocaust. Saying that people who smoke are looked at the same as the Nazis in Germany is a completely outrageous claim. Smokers are by far seen in a friendlier light.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Works Cited
Sorry I forgot to attach this to he 1.2 essay.
Works Cited for Rebuttal Paper
Achieve. Achieve. January 2010. Board of Education. Web. 5 February 2010.
Bryant, Web. “Our view on education: To boost graduation rates, states water down standards.” USA Today. 1 February 2010. Web. 5 February 2010.
ED.gov. ED. February 2010. United States Department of Education. 5 February 2010.
Mariani, Carlos. “Keep students’ dreams alive.” USA Today. 1 February 2010. Web. 5 February 2010.
Vranek, Jennifer. “Transforming Statewide High School Assessment Systems: A Guide for State Policymakers.” Achieve. November 2008. Web. 5 February 2010.
Washington County Board of Education. “High School Assessments: Analysis of Implementation.” 20 March 2007. Web. 5 February 2010.
Works Cited for Rebuttal Paper
Achieve. Achieve. January 2010. Board of Education. Web. 5 February 2010.
Bryant, Web. “Our view on education: To boost graduation rates, states water down standards.” USA Today. 1 February 2010. Web. 5 February 2010.
ED.gov. ED. February 2010. United States Department of Education. 5 February 2010.
Mariani, Carlos. “Keep students’ dreams alive.” USA Today. 1 February 2010. Web. 5 February 2010.
Vranek, Jennifer. “Transforming Statewide High School Assessment Systems: A Guide for State Policymakers.” Achieve. November 2008. Web. 5 February 2010.
Washington County Board of Education. “High School Assessments: Analysis of Implementation.” 20 March 2007. Web. 5 February 2010.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Reflection 1.2
I wanted to be able to finish off the paper with a closing paragraph or statement, but I didn't like the way I wrote it or how it sounded. I left that out for now but I plan on going to the writing lab to ask their opinion on the paragraph and decide how to tweek it to make it better and have it flow with the paper, or just leave it out all together.
I really liked the feedback I got from my classmates, I only wish there could have been more. I find it a lot harder to edit my own paper virsus someone elses paper. I guess my writing just sounds different to me so it's harder to pick out mistakes. I'm also having various suitemates edit my paper for me. This is going to help a lot I think once I do get the edited paper back. I think it will be similar to getting feedback from my classmates.
Overall, I like the flow of my paper. I was pleased by the order of the information and I think there is a generous amount of textual evidence in my paper, plus personal experience. I tried to really make it relatable and I'm hoping that I've succeeded.
I really liked the feedback I got from my classmates, I only wish there could have been more. I find it a lot harder to edit my own paper virsus someone elses paper. I guess my writing just sounds different to me so it's harder to pick out mistakes. I'm also having various suitemates edit my paper for me. This is going to help a lot I think once I do get the edited paper back. I think it will be similar to getting feedback from my classmates.
Overall, I like the flow of my paper. I was pleased by the order of the information and I think there is a generous amount of textual evidence in my paper, plus personal experience. I tried to really make it relatable and I'm hoping that I've succeeded.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Rebuttal Essay 1.2
High school systems expect a lot of their students, but without high expectations what would be driving the majority of students to perform on a high academic level? High schools across the country are enforcing standardized tests in order to receive your diploma. This is leaving many students frustrated and stressed and their parents outraged. This topic is widely argued but I will focus is on the editorial, “Opposing View: Keep Students’ Dreams Alive”, published in the USA Today. The author, Carlos Mariani, a Minnesota politician and a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, has taken the stance that making high school students pass tests designed by adults is outrageous. He is writing to appeal to the average American that was held to these standards and he is trying to gain their support in his attempt to not “water down our standards” (Mariani par. 3), but to make passing the tests more achievable. From personal experience I believe these tests are highly passable. I took the High School Assessments (HSAs) in my Maryland high school and didn’t have any trouble passing the assessments. Each state has the liberty to use the test of their choice but many, 34 to be exact (Achieve 4), are in the process of adopting HSAs to evaluate their students’ academic capabilities before they graduate. If this many state-wide school systems can enforce this sort of test, then there must not be a large percentage of students unable to graduate. Some students just need to understand that they’re in school for a reason, to get an education, and they need to step up their game whether they like it or not. I believe any student that is an engaged academic learner would have no problem passing the exams and even attempting to lessen the standard to which students today are held is offensive to the students.
A high school diploma is the new standard in the workforce. We live in a world that is growing and will not stop because educators in America aren’t teaching their students what they need in order to pass straightforward high school assessments. In our grandparents school days they were lucky to finish high school, and that was acceptable because many had to go into the workforce to support their families. However, in today’s world if you don’t have at least a high school diploma there are limited jobs available to you. So it is important now more than ever that high school students are given a strong background in English and math so they can excel in college and the workforce. “For those [students] who go straight from high school into the workforce, some 60% of employers rate the graduates' English and math skills as fair or poor” (Bryant par 5). There is no reason for this high percentage of incompetent workers. There is a highly accessible public school system for a reason. It was developed to give every child the chance of having a good basic knowledge in subjects that they will continue to use for the rest of their life, hence the “No Child Left Behind act” (ED). Without skills in English and math students are unable to communicate efficiently and perform basic calculations. These tests are only assessments to prove to the school system that students are able to be successful after school. School systems need a way to be sure that their graduates are going to flourish after high school and assessments are the best way to prove that. States don’t want to send an undereducated student into the workforce only to have them fail because they were unable to have an intelligent conversation with a customer or employer.
Here at James Madison University academic assessment sites have rated JMU’s undergraduate program in business number 35 nationally (BusinessWeek), best value for money in the nation (Forbes), and one of the best masters-level university in the South (U.S. News and World Report). The way we get these reputations and honors is because the school is determined and successful in preparing the student body for professional jobs during school and after graduation. The school board puts students though general education courses and rigorous testing to ensure that their graduates will be successful. High schools should take the same pride in their academic guidelines. They shouldn’t just pass students because it’s the “normal” thing to do. Recent high school graduation rates and researched conducted by the U.S. Department of Education have shown that “even though the number of kids getting a high school diploma has climbed to 75%, close to half take remedial classes in math, writing, or reading when they get to college, [and] half drop out” (Bryant par 3). High schools that don’t enforce these tests are just passing kids through high school because they feel it’s the right thing to do, but ultimately they are hurting their students by throwing them into a world they aren’t ready for. Students that are just passed on have to pay large amounts of money to go to college and obtain the skills they should have learned in high school and many of them never make it to the college graduation because they are so far behind from the start. State schools should take pride in the fact that they only pass students that are ready for more extensive education, not just advance students to get higher graduation rates.
For most of my academic career I was in private school. Sophomore year I made the switch to a public school education only to learn that I was already 2 years behind all other students in the field of High School Assessments. It was up to me to now pass a test in Algebra I and English I, commonly taken by students after their 8th grade year, Government, taken in 9th grade, and Biology, taken sophomore year. When tests were offered that spring I was able to take and pass all of my required tests. These tests were extremely realistic and highly passable. Teachers really stressed information that was going to be on these exams and they made sure to adequately prepare students for these tests. I personally ended up taking my government class junior year and my teacher made us extremely aware of the specific aspects of the U.S. government that would be on the HSA and he structured his individual tests to resemble the government administered exam so we would be familiar with what the HSA would actually look like. However, if a student was unable to pass a test they were registered, by the school, to take an HSA preparatory course that was built into your regular school schedule. Then the student was given as many tries as needed to pass the HSA. However, in some cases there was a second option, the Bridge Plan, which can replace the tests for special needs circumstances. Most students take these tests in plenty of time to pass them and the Bridge Plan isn’t necessary. Ultimately the school systems set students up for success in high school and beyond in whatever path they choose.
There are endless advantages to testing students on their skills needed for advancement in the working world. The problem faced is how to make these tests passable for students that actually possess these skills and challenging for those that don’t have adequate knowledge in the areas tested. Mariani brings up the point that many scholars in high school excel in all aspects of school except these tests and are then ineligible to graduate because they were unable to pass one test. The test which he is describing is one specific test used in Minnesota last year. He stated that these tests were causing much controversy and therefore they were retracted and pushed back until 2014 when the board of education could hopefully come up with a more practical test. However, if each state that choose to give tests would just adopt the HSA standardized test then a lot of their problems would be resolved. In Maryland the Board of Education found that 87% - 95% of students that are required to pass the HSA in order to graduate did so successfully (Achieve 3). They found that when students are obligated to meet these demands by graduation they were successful. The Board of Education proposed that high success rates were attained because of the reinforcement, classes offered, and the opportunity to earn graduation status if you got a 1602 combined on all your tests vs. getting passing scores on each individual test. With these high passing rates and growing popularity there are few reasons to want to design a completely new test that has proven to be too challenging when the HSA is proven effective and already in use across the nation.
A high school diploma is the new standard in the workforce. We live in a world that is growing and will not stop because educators in America aren’t teaching their students what they need in order to pass straightforward high school assessments. In our grandparents school days they were lucky to finish high school, and that was acceptable because many had to go into the workforce to support their families. However, in today’s world if you don’t have at least a high school diploma there are limited jobs available to you. So it is important now more than ever that high school students are given a strong background in English and math so they can excel in college and the workforce. “For those [students] who go straight from high school into the workforce, some 60% of employers rate the graduates' English and math skills as fair or poor” (Bryant par 5). There is no reason for this high percentage of incompetent workers. There is a highly accessible public school system for a reason. It was developed to give every child the chance of having a good basic knowledge in subjects that they will continue to use for the rest of their life, hence the “No Child Left Behind act” (ED). Without skills in English and math students are unable to communicate efficiently and perform basic calculations. These tests are only assessments to prove to the school system that students are able to be successful after school. School systems need a way to be sure that their graduates are going to flourish after high school and assessments are the best way to prove that. States don’t want to send an undereducated student into the workforce only to have them fail because they were unable to have an intelligent conversation with a customer or employer.
Here at James Madison University academic assessment sites have rated JMU’s undergraduate program in business number 35 nationally (BusinessWeek), best value for money in the nation (Forbes), and one of the best masters-level university in the South (U.S. News and World Report). The way we get these reputations and honors is because the school is determined and successful in preparing the student body for professional jobs during school and after graduation. The school board puts students though general education courses and rigorous testing to ensure that their graduates will be successful. High schools should take the same pride in their academic guidelines. They shouldn’t just pass students because it’s the “normal” thing to do. Recent high school graduation rates and researched conducted by the U.S. Department of Education have shown that “even though the number of kids getting a high school diploma has climbed to 75%, close to half take remedial classes in math, writing, or reading when they get to college, [and] half drop out” (Bryant par 3). High schools that don’t enforce these tests are just passing kids through high school because they feel it’s the right thing to do, but ultimately they are hurting their students by throwing them into a world they aren’t ready for. Students that are just passed on have to pay large amounts of money to go to college and obtain the skills they should have learned in high school and many of them never make it to the college graduation because they are so far behind from the start. State schools should take pride in the fact that they only pass students that are ready for more extensive education, not just advance students to get higher graduation rates.
For most of my academic career I was in private school. Sophomore year I made the switch to a public school education only to learn that I was already 2 years behind all other students in the field of High School Assessments. It was up to me to now pass a test in Algebra I and English I, commonly taken by students after their 8th grade year, Government, taken in 9th grade, and Biology, taken sophomore year. When tests were offered that spring I was able to take and pass all of my required tests. These tests were extremely realistic and highly passable. Teachers really stressed information that was going to be on these exams and they made sure to adequately prepare students for these tests. I personally ended up taking my government class junior year and my teacher made us extremely aware of the specific aspects of the U.S. government that would be on the HSA and he structured his individual tests to resemble the government administered exam so we would be familiar with what the HSA would actually look like. However, if a student was unable to pass a test they were registered, by the school, to take an HSA preparatory course that was built into your regular school schedule. Then the student was given as many tries as needed to pass the HSA. However, in some cases there was a second option, the Bridge Plan, which can replace the tests for special needs circumstances. Most students take these tests in plenty of time to pass them and the Bridge Plan isn’t necessary. Ultimately the school systems set students up for success in high school and beyond in whatever path they choose.
There are endless advantages to testing students on their skills needed for advancement in the working world. The problem faced is how to make these tests passable for students that actually possess these skills and challenging for those that don’t have adequate knowledge in the areas tested. Mariani brings up the point that many scholars in high school excel in all aspects of school except these tests and are then ineligible to graduate because they were unable to pass one test. The test which he is describing is one specific test used in Minnesota last year. He stated that these tests were causing much controversy and therefore they were retracted and pushed back until 2014 when the board of education could hopefully come up with a more practical test. However, if each state that choose to give tests would just adopt the HSA standardized test then a lot of their problems would be resolved. In Maryland the Board of Education found that 87% - 95% of students that are required to pass the HSA in order to graduate did so successfully (Achieve 3). They found that when students are obligated to meet these demands by graduation they were successful. The Board of Education proposed that high success rates were attained because of the reinforcement, classes offered, and the opportunity to earn graduation status if you got a 1602 combined on all your tests vs. getting passing scores on each individual test. With these high passing rates and growing popularity there are few reasons to want to design a completely new test that has proven to be too challenging when the HSA is proven effective and already in use across the nation.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Reflection 1.1
The comments that I got from my groupmates was very helpful and I took a lot of it and put it into my paper. So far the paper seems to be coming together well, but I'm still having trouble with the closing paragraph. I've noticed that the paper never really came to a close so I need to add another paragraph to sum up the whole paper. However, overall I think things are coming together well. It made me more confident when I read my groupmates blogs also and they all seem to be at the same stage as me. In my next draft I want to add some more to my personal experience section and also the closing paragraph. I'm going to try and make so "global changes" like we're supposed to but overall I like my paper as of now.
The thing that helped my most in my peer revisions was when they took actual quotes from my paper and told me how I could mold the ideas that I already had to make the paper better. I like getting feedback because I feel like I'm making my paper that much better and the goal is to make your paper as effective and powerful as possible. It also helped hearing the my paper was interesting and perswasive. My groupmates said that they didn't really think about my topic much before but that my paper helped them see the issue behind my paper and that my thoughts had persuaded them to be on my side of the argument.
I worked really hard on this paper and I was glad to see that my groupmates enjoyed the paper and that they gave me positive feedback on the matter.
The thing that helped my most in my peer revisions was when they took actual quotes from my paper and told me how I could mold the ideas that I already had to make the paper better. I like getting feedback because I feel like I'm making my paper that much better and the goal is to make your paper as effective and powerful as possible. It also helped hearing the my paper was interesting and perswasive. My groupmates said that they didn't really think about my topic much before but that my paper helped them see the issue behind my paper and that my thoughts had persuaded them to be on my side of the argument.
I worked really hard on this paper and I was glad to see that my groupmates enjoyed the paper and that they gave me positive feedback on the matter.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Essay 1.1 High School Exit Exams
High school systems expect a lot of their students, but without high expectations what would be driving the majority of students to perform on a high academic level? High schools across the country are enforcing standardized tests in order to receive your diploma. This is leaving many students frustrated and stressed and their parents outraged. This topic is widely argued but my personal rebuttal will focus is on the editorial, Opposing View: Keep Students’ Dreams Alive, published in the USA Today. The author, Carlos Mariani, a Minnesota politician and a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, has taken the stance that making high school students pass tests designed by adults is outrageous. He is writing to appeal to the average American that was held to these standards and he is trying to gain their support in his attempt to not “water down our standards” (par. 3), but to make passing the tests more achievable. From personal experience I believe these tests are highly passable. I took the High School Assessments (HSAs) in my Maryland high school and didn’t have any trouble passing the assessments. Each state has the liberty to use the test of their choice but many, 34 to be exact (Achieve 4), are in the process of adopting HSAs to evaluate their students’ academic capabilities. If this many state-wide school systems can enforce this sort of tests, then there must not be a large percentage of students unable to graduate. Some students just need to understand that they’re in school for a reason, to get an education, and they need to step up their game whether they like it or not.
A high school diploma is the new standard in the workforce. We live in a world that is growing and will not stop because educators in America aren’t teaching their students what they need in order to pass straightforward high school assessments. In our grandparents school days they were lucky to finish high school, and that was acceptable because many had to go into the workforce to support their families. However, in today’s world if you don’t have at least a high school diploma there are very few jobs available to you. So it is important now more than ever that high school students are given a strong background in English and math so they can excel in college and the workforce. “For those [students] who go straight from high school into the workforce, some 60% of employers rate the graduates' English and math skills as fair or poor” (par 5). There is a highly accessible public school system for a reason. It was developed to give every child the chance of having a good basic knowledge in subjects that they will continue to use for the rest of their life, hence the “No Child Left Behind” act. Without skills in English and math students are unable to communicate efficiently and perform basic calculations. These tests are only assessments to prove to the school system that students are able to be successful after school. School systems need a way to be sure that their graduates are going to flourish after high school and assessments are the best way to prove that. States don’t want to send an undereducated student into the workforce only to have them fail because they were unable to have an intelligent conversation with a customer or employer.
Here at James Madison University academic assessment sites have rated JMU’s undergraduate program in business number 35 nationally (BusinessWeek), best value for money in the nation (Forbes), and one of the best masters-level university in the South (U.S. News and World Report). The way we get these reputations and honors is because the school is determined and successful in preparing the student body for professional jobs during school and after graduation. The school board puts students though general education courses and rigorous testing to ensure that their graduates will be successful. High schools should take the same pride in their academic guidelines. They shouldn’t just pass students because it’s the “normal” thing to do. Recent high school graduation rates have shown that “even though the number of kids getting a high school diploma has climbed to 75%, according to the U.S. Department of Education, close to half take remedial classes in math, writing, or reading when they get to college, [and] half drop out” (par 3). High schools that don’t enforce these tests are just passing kids through high school because they feel it’s the right thing to do, but ultimately they are hurting their students by throwing them into a world they aren’t ready for. Students that are just passed on have to pay large amounts of money to go to college and obtain the skills they should have learned in high school and many of them never make it to the college graduation because they are so far behind from the start. State schools should take pride in the fact that they only pass students that are ready for more extensive education, not just advance students to get higher graduation rates.
For most of my academic career I was in private school. Sophomore year I made the switch to public school education only to learn that I was already 2 years behind other students in the field of High School Assessments. It was up to me to now pass a test in Algebra I and English I, commonly taken by students after their 8th grade year, Government, taken in 9th grade, and Biology, taken sophomore year. When tests were offered that spring I was able to take and pass all of my required tests. These tests were extremely realistic and highly passable. However, if a student was unable to pass a test they were registered, by the school, to take an HSA preparatory course that was built into your regular school schedule. Then the student was given as many tries as needed to pass the HSA. However, in some cases there was a second option of the Bridge Plan which can replace the test for special needs circumstances. Most students take these tests in plenty of time to pass them and the Bridge Plan isn’t necessary. Ultimately the school systems set students up for success in high school and beyond in whatever path they choose.
There are endless advantages to testing students on their skills needed for advancement in the working world. The problem faced is how to make these tests passable for students that actually possess these skills and challenging for those that don’t have adequate knowledge in the areas tested. Mariani brings up the point that many scholars in high school excel in all aspects of school except these tests and are then ineligible to graduate because they were unable to pass one test. The test which he is describing is one specific test used in Minnesota last year. He stated that these tests were causing much controversy and therefore they were retracted and pushed back until 2014 when the board of education could hopefully come up with a more practical test. However, if each state that choose to give tests would just adopt the HSA standardized test then a lot of their problems would be resolved. 87% - 95% of students that are required to pass the HSA in order to graduate did so successfully (WC Board of Edu. 3). They found that when students are obligated to meet these demands by graduation they were successful. The Board of Education proposed that high success rates were attained because of the reinforcement, classes offered, and the opportunity to earn graduation status if you got a 1602 combined on all your tests vs. getting passing scores on each individual test. With these high passing rates and growing popularity there are few reasons to want to design a completely new test that has proven to be too challenging when the HSA is proven effective and already in use across the nation.
A high school diploma is the new standard in the workforce. We live in a world that is growing and will not stop because educators in America aren’t teaching their students what they need in order to pass straightforward high school assessments. In our grandparents school days they were lucky to finish high school, and that was acceptable because many had to go into the workforce to support their families. However, in today’s world if you don’t have at least a high school diploma there are very few jobs available to you. So it is important now more than ever that high school students are given a strong background in English and math so they can excel in college and the workforce. “For those [students] who go straight from high school into the workforce, some 60% of employers rate the graduates' English and math skills as fair or poor” (par 5). There is a highly accessible public school system for a reason. It was developed to give every child the chance of having a good basic knowledge in subjects that they will continue to use for the rest of their life, hence the “No Child Left Behind” act. Without skills in English and math students are unable to communicate efficiently and perform basic calculations. These tests are only assessments to prove to the school system that students are able to be successful after school. School systems need a way to be sure that their graduates are going to flourish after high school and assessments are the best way to prove that. States don’t want to send an undereducated student into the workforce only to have them fail because they were unable to have an intelligent conversation with a customer or employer.
Here at James Madison University academic assessment sites have rated JMU’s undergraduate program in business number 35 nationally (BusinessWeek), best value for money in the nation (Forbes), and one of the best masters-level university in the South (U.S. News and World Report). The way we get these reputations and honors is because the school is determined and successful in preparing the student body for professional jobs during school and after graduation. The school board puts students though general education courses and rigorous testing to ensure that their graduates will be successful. High schools should take the same pride in their academic guidelines. They shouldn’t just pass students because it’s the “normal” thing to do. Recent high school graduation rates have shown that “even though the number of kids getting a high school diploma has climbed to 75%, according to the U.S. Department of Education, close to half take remedial classes in math, writing, or reading when they get to college, [and] half drop out” (par 3). High schools that don’t enforce these tests are just passing kids through high school because they feel it’s the right thing to do, but ultimately they are hurting their students by throwing them into a world they aren’t ready for. Students that are just passed on have to pay large amounts of money to go to college and obtain the skills they should have learned in high school and many of them never make it to the college graduation because they are so far behind from the start. State schools should take pride in the fact that they only pass students that are ready for more extensive education, not just advance students to get higher graduation rates.
For most of my academic career I was in private school. Sophomore year I made the switch to public school education only to learn that I was already 2 years behind other students in the field of High School Assessments. It was up to me to now pass a test in Algebra I and English I, commonly taken by students after their 8th grade year, Government, taken in 9th grade, and Biology, taken sophomore year. When tests were offered that spring I was able to take and pass all of my required tests. These tests were extremely realistic and highly passable. However, if a student was unable to pass a test they were registered, by the school, to take an HSA preparatory course that was built into your regular school schedule. Then the student was given as many tries as needed to pass the HSA. However, in some cases there was a second option of the Bridge Plan which can replace the test for special needs circumstances. Most students take these tests in plenty of time to pass them and the Bridge Plan isn’t necessary. Ultimately the school systems set students up for success in high school and beyond in whatever path they choose.
There are endless advantages to testing students on their skills needed for advancement in the working world. The problem faced is how to make these tests passable for students that actually possess these skills and challenging for those that don’t have adequate knowledge in the areas tested. Mariani brings up the point that many scholars in high school excel in all aspects of school except these tests and are then ineligible to graduate because they were unable to pass one test. The test which he is describing is one specific test used in Minnesota last year. He stated that these tests were causing much controversy and therefore they were retracted and pushed back until 2014 when the board of education could hopefully come up with a more practical test. However, if each state that choose to give tests would just adopt the HSA standardized test then a lot of their problems would be resolved. 87% - 95% of students that are required to pass the HSA in order to graduate did so successfully (WC Board of Edu. 3). They found that when students are obligated to meet these demands by graduation they were successful. The Board of Education proposed that high success rates were attained because of the reinforcement, classes offered, and the opportunity to earn graduation status if you got a 1602 combined on all your tests vs. getting passing scores on each individual test. With these high passing rates and growing popularity there are few reasons to want to design a completely new test that has proven to be too challenging when the HSA is proven effective and already in use across the nation.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Change of topic
I have switched my topic to high school exit exam testing. The link is: http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2010/02/opposing-view-keep-students-dreams-alive.html#more
Outline
Intro-
A. Define the issue.
1. Bag Tax
2. People's problem with the tax
B. Introduce the editorial
1. Where it was published
2. Who wrote it
3. The type of resoponce it's getting
C. Show my stance (counterargue)
1. Making people use reuseable bags
2. Opens up new markets for production of those bags
3. Increasing revenue for the state to clean the environment
D. Brief Overview of paper
1. The money the tax brings in. What is done with that money. Why that's a good thing.
2. Opening up new doors for companies wanting to help the environment and make a profit on reuseable eco-friendly bags.
3. Is it helping? Where did we get this idea? Who follows this tax. What is expected to come of it? How is it going to help the environment? Will it actually make a difference? Has it already? Etc.
A. Define the issue.
1. Bag Tax
2. People's problem with the tax
B. Introduce the editorial
1. Where it was published
2. Who wrote it
3. The type of resoponce it's getting
C. Show my stance (counterargue)
1. Making people use reuseable bags
2. Opens up new markets for production of those bags
3. Increasing revenue for the state to clean the environment
D. Brief Overview of paper
1. The money the tax brings in. What is done with that money. Why that's a good thing.
2. Opening up new doors for companies wanting to help the environment and make a profit on reuseable eco-friendly bags.
3. Is it helping? Where did we get this idea? Who follows this tax. What is expected to come of it? How is it going to help the environment? Will it actually make a difference? Has it already? Etc.
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