Community Forums => General Chat => Topic started by: kraken613 on June 07, 2009, 11:43:24 PM
Title: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: kraken613 on June 07, 2009, 11:43:24 PM
Geometry exam tomorrow. I am really afraid of this one. State tests are f'ing retarded! How can one test show how you did the whole year? Sitting in a room for 3 hours doing a stupidly put together tests shows nothing of how smart you are! It just adds stress to you which makes you feel stupid and is just frustrating! ARG!
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: UncleBob on June 07, 2009, 11:52:50 PM
Yay for government education!
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: RABicle on June 08, 2009, 12:13:50 AM
There is quite a lot of fascinating (to me) debate in the academic literature in the fields of education, psychology, linguistics and the like about exams. There are plenty of worthwhile reasons to have exams but I'd prefer something like a portfolio, built throughout the year as a better end of semester assessment. Exams however are fine so long as there are safety nets in the event you wake up witha headache the day of the exam and **** up.
Anyway, hour and a half till my Primary Curriculum English exam. I'm going to be slaughtered.
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: kraken613 on June 08, 2009, 12:18:27 AM
I would love a portfolio. To pass Geometry test in NC you have to make a level 3 or 4. To get a 3 its a 82%. There are 80 questions on the test and 90 minutes to take it. So even though I have had a steady A-B avg all year if I make a 81% on this test I fail all of Geometry.
School is about learning for a state test now, not learning for life.
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: Ian Sane on June 08, 2009, 05:01:33 PM
The dilemma of education is that the system in place isn't a good way to learn. Learning one-on-one or with a small group of students with a similar level of interest and intelligence is ideal. But you also want to educate the masses. I'm sure someone will make a "mind control" reference here but there is an advantage to having a society where almost everyone can read and write and has some basic grasp of math. But to educate everyone it's just not efficient to have personal tutoring. The current system is the only one I can think of that will realistically work to some capacity. It sucks but that's reality.
Grade school exists to prepare you for exams. Post-secondary education exists to make MONEY.
In high school I learned that school is a formula and if you know how to work it you can use it to your advantage. I got good grades though my best friend did better. I would typically get a B+ and he would get an A. However I found out that he would do homework and study pretty much from when he got home from school until we went to bed. I put considerably less time and effort in. And while he did do better it wasn't THAT much better and certainly didn't seem worth the extra effort. It suggested to me that he was doing things inefficiently. The difference was that I aimed for "good enough" to get a good grade while he aimed for perfection. I would focus my studying on what I thought would be on the test, not on the entire subject. I would curb written essays to what I thought the teacher wanted to hear. I was working the system. And once I realized I was doing that I strived to perfect it and sure enough my grades improved each year until we were both straight A students in grade 12. In college I surpassed him by a huge margin and constantly flirted in the 4.0 GPA area.
Learn to work the system and you'll kick ass in school. Though I'm not sure if it's something you can teach. The best you can do is realize it's possible and then try to do it. My brother barely passed high school but figured out how to work school in college and did very well.
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on June 08, 2009, 05:13:51 PM
To add to Ian's advice, realize that some systems/fields can only be worked so much, depending how deep you're going to go. At which point it might be apparent the system/field actually demands people that know what they're doing.
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: King of Twitch on June 08, 2009, 05:52:19 PM
I didn't know Ian was studying to be a 3rd excuse maker ;)
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: DAaaMan64 on June 08, 2009, 06:24:12 PM
I'm **** on tests.
But I gotta be honest, the few times I felt like I truly truly remembered and could recall the information I needed, I was not nervous, but rather confident and I did great on the test. Tests are necessary, it's all in how you prepare for them.
Problem is, I sucked in H.S. and have had a hard time mustering the energy to fix that problem now. haha
In terms of State mandated testing... No I don't like it. It doesn't lend itself well to freedom. ;)
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: nickmitch on June 08, 2009, 09:44:03 PM
I do exactly what Ian does. Only for me, I need to maintain a 3.3 to keep a scholarship, so there's some pressure. However, I just relax and work **** out the E-Z way.
I have a few friends that are in the honors program that are over-achievers who rarely go out and are almost always doing work. Every class I have with them, I do better, and they seem to hate me for it.
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on June 08, 2009, 10:59:44 PM
Uncle Scrooge's dad told him, "Don't work harder, work smarter."
So now Scrooge is the richest duck in the world.
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: oohhboy on June 09, 2009, 02:51:47 AM
Chill out. You think this stuff is hard and unfair. Wait till to see what comes up post secondary school. All the education you have done now is for your own good. The tests are for your own good. If you do badly, it's a message to get your game together, not that your stupid. The really stupid are already in special classes. Are you in special Ed? No? Then you're not stupid.
While Ian is right that your can play with the tests, do try to learn something on the way. If I just loaded up for my flight test only to pass it, I would make one piss poor pilot.
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: Pale on June 09, 2009, 10:41:50 AM
I'll take your math test for you if you go to Jury duty for me so I can go on my honeymoon stress free!
:(
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: Pale on June 09, 2009, 10:49:13 AM
Also, for the sake of the rules, please keep this to discussing the best ways for a person to learn, and not discussing government's intervention and the issues therein.
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: UncleBob on June 09, 2009, 11:14:10 AM
But what if the best way for a person to learn is to enroll in a private school free from government intervention? :)
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: Plugabugz on June 09, 2009, 11:21:01 AM
The purpose of school, especially post- age 12 is to learn to pass exams. When people focus on classes in that way then its easier to grasp the point of it.
But what if the best way for a person to learn is to enroll in a private school free from government intervention? :)
Pay for it.
Well, yeah. Although it sucks for parents who are already *forced* to pay for government provided education now get to pay again so that their children can obtain a decent education.
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: Stogi on June 09, 2009, 11:34:41 AM
During highschool, I was the laziest, smartest person in class. I was the biggest dick you could imagine. Unlike everyone else who was basically a chump, I, on more than one occasion, blackmailed my teachers into giving me an 'A'.
I was basically mafia. I had little kids steal me cookies and bring them to my class; I had teachers hook it up with things that they'd confiscate (like a GBA); and I skipped class at least 3 times a day; not to mention I was high all the time.
Now my highschool is public but is far from ghetto. It is renowned as one of the best in the state. We produce like 99% graduates or something like that. I had 8 valedictorians for God's sake (who each had a speech to give *blows brains out*).
If there's one thing that I'd like to pass on it's this: Learn how to manipulate your teachers. Each teacher has different rules and different expectations. Find their weakness and exploit it.
For instance: My English teacher and I would always get into arguments. He was a prick and hated me for no apparent reason. And for every paper I would write, he would give me a 'C-' no matter what I did. To prove my point, the next paper due I literally wrote one page that pertained to my topic, then switched the next three pages into how much I would love to be a penguin, and then switched it back to my original topic to close it out. This paper should have gotten an 'F'. Half of it talked about how hilarious it would be to slide down glaciers and waddle around like a jackass. But nope...I got a 'C-'. I showed it to him and he flustered with rage. He promptly gave me an 'F' and yelled at me until other teachers had to break it up.
Of course, for making a fool out of him, I got suspended.....
But I wasn't done. Little did he know I videotaped that fat **** making up the final grades on his computer (no seriously, he'd make it up according to how much he liked you). I showed it to him (after making a copy) and told him that if he didn't give me an 'A', that I would show this to the principal and he would fire his ass. Needless to say, I got an 'A'.
This happened a couple more times to the point where none of the teachers fucked with me. But it's not like I hated them all. I really like a few of them (I even smoked with one them after they had retired). I just wasn't a chump and you shouldn't be either.
I ended up graduating early and leaving for 6 months.
Now college: DON'T **** AROUND IN COLLEGE. That's serious **** and you need a serious attitude. Party and bullshit, but don't let girls take over your life. Chasing girls is really fun, but it's really easy to get distracted from your goals. Plus, there's nothing like the feeling of accomplishment.
Still, college is about experimentation and finding out WHO ARE YOU, REALLY? Don't let life's little lessons pass you by. Turn people down if your busy, but if your not, go out and have as much fun as possible. You are constantly dying, so act accordingly.
College is also the time to make long time friends that will help you succeed later in life. Keep an eye out for those people that have the innate quality of charm, sophistication, and success (don't dick ride though). Those are the people who are necessary to take shortcuts. And shortcuts, my friend, shortcuts are the American way of life.
Now I'm about to graduate and finally start the second phase of my life (the first was schooling). *Sigh* I can't wait!
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: UncleBob on June 09, 2009, 12:00:56 PM
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: UncleBob on June 09, 2009, 12:20:00 PM
My point being, of course, is that it's probably pretty easy to get 99% of your students to graduate when students who can skip 3 classes/day can still manage to pull A's.
But, hell, what do I know. We had a football player in my school that overdosed on some major illegal drugs, spent 3/4ths of his senior year in rehab, couldn't read and was ****ed up beyond belief and yet, still graduated with the rest of his class.
Now he weighs about 400 pounds, has, I think, five kids with three different women (none of which he's ever been married to), unemployed and lives off the state.
Our school was pretty high up there too.
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: Stogi on June 09, 2009, 12:29:39 PM
It's a public school....It'll never be that challenging.
I'm just glad the old SATs counted so much towards higher education. I had a friend who barely graduated but pulled a 1560 and could have gotten into any school he wanted. I pulled a much lower 1250, but as an excuse I was hangover as hell and late to my SATs. I didn't really care for them anyway since I knew I was already excepted to the school I wanted.
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on June 09, 2009, 12:38:58 PM
"I knew I was already excepted to the school I wanted."
It shows, brainiac.
=D
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: Stogi on June 09, 2009, 12:43:57 PM
Is it so wrong that my mind works faster than my hands?
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: UncleBob on June 09, 2009, 12:49:39 PM
It's a public school....It'll never be that challenging.
Duh. If you want a real, useful education where you can succeed based on your merits, you're very unlikely to achieve that from a government school.
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: oohhboy on June 09, 2009, 01:16:18 PM
That's gross Uncle Bob. Are those stories common where you live? I mean, I though hardcore WOW players were pretty low on the loser end of things.
While public schools aren't that demanding and are only really there to make you a functional person, there are always extra things you can do if you wish to extend yourself. Hell it's even possible to skip a year. The extra you do doesn't even have to be related to school. Everybody has a productive talent of some sort. You just have to figure out what it is. And no, self disillusion is not a talent after seeing the endless number of people who think they are worth that 15 minutes of fame.
Your school must have been terrible Kashogi if you could drive it in to the ground like a fucked up version of saved by the bell. Mr Bedding would have lost the rest if his hair if not outright killed dealing with you.
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: Plugabugz on June 09, 2009, 03:28:30 PM
I went to the second worst secondary/high school in the borough. I applied for 5 schools, 4 rejected me, 1 said i "lived too far away" (despite my friends living on the same road 200 feet away going there), and the 7th which i never applied for accepted me.
And yet i just finished my exams and i should be graduating this year. I did alright i think? :P
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: stevey on June 09, 2009, 04:09:46 PM
I just find it really amazing and hilarious that nearly everyone at NWR is, more or less, way smarter than me.... :faust:
My public school is the worst it gets. Not only did it make global news over parts of it's horrible school policy, they had the most evil Administrators you can imagine, had biweekly bomb threats, and was openly mocked on Saturday Night Live; the only success story and the smartest person to ever go there was Jon Stewart.......... :-\
During highschool, I was the laziest, smartest person in class. I was the biggest dick you could imagine. Unlike everyone else who was basically a chump, I, on more than one occasion, blackmailed my teachers into giving me an 'A'.
I was basically mafia. I had little kids steal me cookies and bring them to my class; I had teachers hook it up with things that they'd confiscate (like a GBA); and I skipped class at least 3 times a day; not to mention I was high all the time.
Now my highschool is public but is far from ghetto. It is renowned as one of the best in the state. We produce like 99% graduates or something like that. I had 8 valedictorians for God's sake (who each had a speech to give *blows brains out*).
If there's one thing that I'd like to pass on it's this: Learn how to manipulate your teachers. Each teacher has different rules and different expectations. Find their weakness and exploit it.
For instance: My English teacher and I would always get into arguments. He was a prick and hated me for no apparent reason. And for every paper I would write, he would give me a 'C-' no matter what I did. To prove my point, the next paper due I literally wrote one page that pertained to my topic, then switched the next three pages into how much I would love to be a penguin, and then switched it back to my original topic to close it out. This paper should have gotten an 'F'. Half of it talked about how hilarious it would be to slide down glaciers and waddle around like a jackass. But nope...I got a 'C-'. I showed it to him and he flustered with rage. He promptly gave me an 'F' and yelled at me until other teachers had to break it up.
Of course, for making a fool out of him, I got suspended.....
But I wasn't done. Little did he know I videotaped that fat **** making up the final grades on his computer (no seriously, he'd make it up according to how much he liked you). I showed it to him (after making a copy) and told him that if he didn't give me an 'A', that I would show this to the principal and he would fire his ass. Needless to say, I got an 'A'.
This happened a couple more times to the point where none of the teachers fucked with me. But it's not like I hated them all. I really like a few of them (I even smoked with one them after they had retired). I just wasn't a chump and you shouldn't be either.
I ended up graduating early and leaving for 6 months.
Now college: DON'T **** AROUND IN COLLEGE. That's serious **** and you need a serious attitude. Party and bullshit, but don't let girls take over your life. Chasing girls is really fun, but it's really easy to get distracted from your goals. Plus, there's nothing like the feeling of accomplishment.
Still, college is about experimentation and finding out WHO ARE YOU, REALLY? Don't let life's little lessons pass you by. Turn people down if your busy, but if your not, go out and have as much fun as possible. You are constantly dying, so act accordingly.
College is also the time to make long time friends that will help you succeed later in life. Keep an eye out for those people that have the innate quality of charm, sophistication, and success (don't dick ride though). Those are the people who are necessary to take shortcuts. And shortcuts, my friend, shortcuts are the American way of life.
Now I'm about to graduate and finally start the second phase of my life (the first was schooling). *Sigh* I can't wait!
This is probably complete BS, but if any part of that is true, then you're a God among men.
Getting back onto topic, I would recommend not to sweat over test or exams. I never studied for an exam back in HS and ended up with a GPA of a 4.4. The laziest way off going through school isn't Ian ways; it's paying the **** attention to the teacher the first time they teach and actually learning everything you need to know and not just what is on the next exam. If you don't, then you will constantly find yourself either failing future exams or wasting the night before the exam or week before the final trying to learn it all. Doing Ian method, you'll constantly be playing catch up for every exam/final after that if it's a class the builds on the earlier matreal of that class. Not to mention, you're going to need all the skills that are taught in school if you want to do anything worth while in real life like build a building or finding the cure to cancer to just be a functioning member of society with the skills need to make a living.
And One last thing. Even if you do fail the Geometry test, don't worry, I never had a Geometry class in my life and I'm double majoring in math. Everything, beside Pythagorean theorem, you can do by using simple Algebra or elementary HS Calculus...
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: kraken613 on June 09, 2009, 05:33:38 PM
I passed my Exam. I get strait A's. Right now for this year I have a 4.2 GPA. I wasn't really that afraid of it just pissed off after 7 Exams....
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: UncleBob on June 10, 2009, 01:28:54 AM
While public schools aren't that demanding and are only really there to make you a functional person, there are always extra things you can do if you wish to extend yourself. Hell it's even possible to skip a year. The extra you do doesn't even have to be related to school.
So, the solution to government school is to do extra stuff outside of the school. ;)
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: ThePerm on June 10, 2009, 02:48:59 AM
when i think of how education should be this is what i think of
I just find it really amazing and hilarious that nearly everyone at NWR is, more or less, way smarter than me.... :faust:
My public school is the worst it gets. Not only did it make global news over parts of it's horrible school policy, they had the most evil Administrators you can imagine, had biweekly bomb threats, and was openly mocked on Saturday Night Live; the only success story and the smartest person to ever go there was Jon Stewart.......... :-\
During highschool, I was the laziest, smartest person in class. I was the biggest dick you could imagine. Unlike everyone else who was basically a chump, I, on more than one occasion, blackmailed my teachers into giving me an 'A'.
I was basically mafia. I had little kids steal me cookies and bring them to my class; I had teachers hook it up with things that they'd confiscate (like a GBA); and I skipped class at least 3 times a day; not to mention I was high all the time.
Now my highschool is public but is far from ghetto. It is renowned as one of the best in the state. We produce like 99% graduates or something like that. I had 8 valedictorians for God's sake (who each had a speech to give *blows brains out*).
If there's one thing that I'd like to pass on it's this: Learn how to manipulate your teachers. Each teacher has different rules and different expectations. Find their weakness and exploit it.
For instance: My English teacher and I would always get into arguments. He was a prick and hated me for no apparent reason. And for every paper I would write, he would give me a 'C-' no matter what I did. To prove my point, the next paper due I literally wrote one page that pertained to my topic, then switched the next three pages into how much I would love to be a penguin, and then switched it back to my original topic to close it out. This paper should have gotten an 'F'. Half of it talked about how hilarious it would be to slide down glaciers and waddle around like a jackass. But nope...I got a 'C-'. I showed it to him and he flustered with rage. He promptly gave me an 'F' and yelled at me until other teachers had to break it up.
Of course, for making a fool out of him, I got suspended.....
But I wasn't done. Little did he know I videotaped that fat **** making up the final grades on his computer (no seriously, he'd make it up according to how much he liked you). I showed it to him (after making a copy) and told him that if he didn't give me an 'A', that I would show this to the principal and he would fire his ass. Needless to say, I got an 'A'.
This happened a couple more times to the point where none of the teachers fucked with me. But it's not like I hated them all. I really like a few of them (I even smoked with one them after they had retired). I just wasn't a chump and you shouldn't be either.
I ended up graduating early and leaving for 6 months.
Now college: DON'T **** AROUND IN COLLEGE. That's serious **** and you need a serious attitude. Party and bullshit, but don't let girls take over your life. Chasing girls is really fun, but it's really easy to get distracted from your goals. Plus, there's nothing like the feeling of accomplishment.
Still, college is about experimentation and finding out WHO ARE YOU, REALLY? Don't let life's little lessons pass you by. Turn people down if your busy, but if your not, go out and have as much fun as possible. You are constantly dying, so act accordingly.
College is also the time to make long time friends that will help you succeed later in life. Keep an eye out for those people that have the innate quality of charm, sophistication, and success (don't dick ride though). Those are the people who are necessary to take shortcuts. And shortcuts, my friend, shortcuts are the American way of life.
Now I'm about to graduate and finally start the second phase of my life (the first was schooling). *Sigh* I can't wait!
This is probably complete BS, but if any part of that is true, then you're a God among men.
I still have the paper to this day.
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: Pale on June 12, 2009, 10:21:12 AM
Maybe it's just the area I live in... but when I think of private schools I think of bureaucratic crap holes.
To me, the best education is a rural public school combined with great parenting.
Title: Re: Rant on State End of Course Tests
Post by: UncleBob on June 12, 2009, 11:29:39 AM
Great parenting is, of course, a major requirement.
However, here's the thing with private schools - they want your business. If you aren't happy with your child's education at one private school, find one at which you will.
Unlike government schools, you aren't forced to go to one school based only on where you live and you don't have to continue to pay into that school even once you've decided to move your child to an educational facility that you feel will do a better job at educating your child.
