Just realized why I hate tests some more
Entry posted by Bronium
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I don't think I've told you guys that I hate tests or why I hate them.
Their just...bad. For a multitude of reasons.
- They don't actually measure what you learn. They try to see how much you know at the current moment. Learning, in my opinion, is sustaining knowledge. It's how much you know, years after you initially learnt it. The thing about tests is that they don't measure learning. They try to measure how much you know at a certain moment.
- And even then, they can't get that right! I mean, the margin or error for the actual knowledge a student has at the current moment, is staggering. At least, 15%. I mean, I can study for a test (and notice how I said for the test and not for learning) for 1.5 hours and get 98%. Give me that same test the next day and I might as well flunk it. And I might know the subject matter perfectly but because I crack under pressure and make dozens of stupid mistakes (like adding/multiplying wrong), I get a 70%, whereas had I corrected the calculation errors, I would've have got a 92%(I checked).
- Another thing, is how they are so vital to your future. I mean, my chances of getting into University literally hangs in the balance of 10 tests (over a year) per subject. If I do average at even 2 of them, it might make the difference between a scholarship or some crazy interest. They are so vital and yet they are so flawed.
But today I realized why I hate them even more.
They stop me learning. Not in that they interfere with my ability to learn things, but the school system is so obsessed with tests, that they'd rather you learn how to properly do a test than actually learn things related to your future career. For example, when I was reading this chapter on series and sequences (a really fun chapter, if I do say so myself) I was stopped and asked to revise for the upcoming maths test. I mean, the subject matter wasn't different from the subject I was doing. I mean, it was the same bloody text book. But teachers are so concerned about their students' grade that they'd rather see me pass a test than learn something new. It's not their fault really. They're just looking out for us (see 3rd point up top).
It just infuriates me so much. I hate tests and I hate what they stand for and now they just mess with me some more. And the funny thing is the teachers know it and the students know it. The people that are actually vital to the learning process know that tests are stupid. Yet some one at the top just doesn't know it, and they just leave tests the way they are. It's so freaking annoying. And since no one is willing to do anything all I can do is just watch as students fail test after test.
P.S: I'm not a bad test taker per say. I mean, I do alright in Maths (average around a 91%) and pretty good in my sciences (around a 97% there). It's just that most of my friends, who actually know what they're being tested on just fall by the wayside.
P.P.S: Not that I'm perfect, I do get the odd 85%. I mean, that's pretty bad, but that comes from silly errors.
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