Test or not: The great debate

By Kristy Niemeyer
College of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
November, 2010

During today’s class we talked about testing and our opinions on whether they are good or bad and if they are necessary in schooling. We had this discussion by having a debate between people for testing and others against it. It was very interesting to watch both sides go back and forth with their opinions and each side made very good points. I agreed that we should not have testing because I think taking a test does not necessarily judge your knowledge on the subject. A lot of people are not very good test takers and that should not penalize them on their final grade.

The class mostly agreed that this type of judgment comes from the stress students have in their lives which affects their minds and makes them not able to perform well. I agree with this idea for myself because I know I get stressed out a lot before a test. I also believe that once a student enters the real world after high school/college, tests will not determine whether you succeed or fail. The most important thing is that you learned and understood concepts that were taught, but the way you present them to people is the most important. Especially for a teacher, you are not evaluated on only the test you take on your knowledge of teaching and its theories, but how you can teach a real class. Communicating with the students is the most important and if you do not have the basic understanding of creativity, communication and socializing then it will not help you get a job in the future.