What role does test play in education

By Katie DiGennaro
College of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
November, 2010

In our class on Tuesday I learned that there are good and bad parts to testing. Some can benefit teachers and students and some will not. It all depends on how the teacher creates a fair test. Tests need to include only class material and should not include things that the teacher has not gone over yet or does not go with the class material. I feel as though tests should be used sometimes, but should not be relied upon all the time. I feel as though they are a good way to see where the class is at and can be used to see where the teachers strong points are and where the weak points are. I do agree that if the class overall seems to be doing well or poor, that will determine if a final should be given to the class. All classes are different, and more teachers need to realize that. The more that will, the better chance they have at being a good teacher.

I thought that the debate on testing that we did was very interesting and made me think a lot about the pro's and con's of testing. Even though I am very against testing, especially when they are bad tests, I do realize that it is needed in certain situations. I can deal with taking a test but sometimes it is not necessary. Overall I really enjoyed class today, and even though my journal may not be long, I learned a lot about peoples different perspectives and how sometimes we need to see things from someone else's point of view. On another note, I an very nervous about the CESTL conference. I am not really that prepared yet, but I will be working on the project this weekend, and hopefully it will be full of engaging and thoughtful ideas. I am usually very good at putting posters together so hopefully I will create a good one for this presentation so I can represent Dr. Boyanton, and show that her students are high achievers and are intelligent. I hope that I do well and make my parents and teachers proud.