I have been thinking a lot about tests lately; mainly school tests. The more I think about it the more I realize tests make absolutely no sense. You see, we are constantly testing our children, yet adults never really get tested out on the real world. Sure some careers require a final test in order to get a practicing license, but in the end, when you’re doing your job, nobody is testing you.
When I say test, I mean the kind of test where you have a limited amount of time to answer a set of questions and you have zero help from reference books or other people. WTF. Seriously, that has never been the case on any job. On the contrary, when you have a job, deadline or whatever from your job, you have plenty of time to get it done and as many references you need. The point is that you do the job well, rather than have to go back and correct things.
That does not seem to be the case with testing. Testing almost seems like it wants you to get answers wrong. You have very little time to answer questions and you don’t get to check your notes to corroborate your answers. That’s not how it goes down in the real world. Isn’t school supposed to prepare kids for the REAL world? I remember some teachers would write trick questions purposefully meant to confuse you into getting the wrong answer. Come on! It can be a challenge for some students, but the purpose is to learn, not to trick.
This type of test forces children to memorize things that they basically dump on the day of the test and later forget. That’s not real learning. And to top it all off, if you don’t do well on these very unrealistic exams, your life gets labeled forever! Poor poor kids who don’t do well on tests!
Then, after testing them an average of 15 times in only 1 semester, schools go and give the kids a FINAL EXAM! Another test, made up of all the other tests they took during the semester. But the worst part is that 1 hour of your child’s life will be worth 25 – 30% of their final grade. Seriously?! 1 hour of the semester is worth 25% of the grade?! Shit! Shouldn’t that be calculated on the basis of the total hours of work during the semester. It’s crazy! Why? Why? Why?
And what the hell are we testing anyway? Science has proven that tests in no way can predict future success in life, happiness, health, creativity, or adaptability. So what are we trying to do here? Why are we torturing our children with all these tests? The tests are not making them learn more, so what’s the point?
