Should Texas schools continue to use standardized testing?

Question

Description

Standardized testing has long been a staple in Texas schools despite being unpopular among educators and parents. Why do we continue to use a system that lacks strong support from voters?

The following articles address this question. The first article concerns a bill that would reform the standardized testing system while the second article discuses the saga of a UT Austin professor who challenged the standardized testing industry.

Read the following articles and post your thoughts. Should Texas schools continue to use standardized testing?

https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/education/article226858749.html

https://www.texasobserver.org/walter-stroup-standardized-testing-pearson/

Discussion Forums: Students will be provided with an article(s) on a political issue and

will be required to comment on that issue in a discussion forum. Students are required to

submit the following by the due date established in the course schedule.

i. Students will write a 700, not to exceed 750, word

position paper over the work assigned by the instructor. The bibliography and

heading do not count towards the required word count. The paper must be submitted

in Microsoft Word format, written in MLA format, double spaced, and include a

bibliography if outside sources are used. Students are expected to utilize proper

grammar and syntax. The paper should:

· Express your opinion of the issue being examined. There may be multiple

topics in a single assigned reading that could be chosen to form your thesis.

Focus one ONE of those topics.

· Do not summarize the piece you are writing about. A few lines of

general summary are sufficient, but the bulk of the paper needs to focus on

your reaction.

· Students are expected to make use outside sources when researching

and writing their reaction papers.Students must document these sources in

a bibliography and via parenthetical citations. Failure to do this is plagiarism.

Avoid using lengthy quotes.

· You are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to your own

facts. Personal opinion cannot be “wrong”, but you can demonstrate poor

logic or utilize inaccurate or distorted information. Engage in due diligence

when referencing facts and conclusions and think critically about your own

reasoning. Points will be deducted for issues in this area. Anecdotal evidence

(I knew someone who…) is rarely sufficient support of an argument.

· Likewise, differing points of view should be given a fair hearing and

shouldn’t be altered to align with your criticism. Do not construct “strawman”

arguments to pick apart and do not engage in ad hominem or unsupported