Today, we're going to talk about something inspired by a post by Shannon Hale--sadly, it was on Facebook, so I can't link it directly to that. I will link this over to Squeetus, her blog, and hope ya'll know who I'm talking about. ;)
Shannon had posted (and I quote):
"After 7 hours in school, another hour of homework each night is too much for elementary kids. They need time to think, play, run, read."That sparked many comments on the standardized tests--which were very interesting to read, and I enjoy Shannon's posts a lot. She's intelligent and funny, and really gets her readers thinking. If there was any author I suggested stalking, she's my top pick!
Anyway, Shannon has tons of great commenters, too. And reading them reminded me of my luck with the standardized tests--it was a weird luck, anyway. Every time I took a standardized test, I always had my period. And as one of my fellow Bloggers and I have discussed on a different post, I'm 99% sure I have PMDD. It is pretty much the worst thing ever and makes me so moody that I hate the entire world--and then some. So much, that when I grow up, I will live alone with cats because everyone will believe that I hate them.
One of the standardized tests is the (state initial)SAT. It's an elementary-middle school test that I don't think actually accounts for anything, and is one of the stupider tests because it doesn't count for anything. And when you get a chica who already is not happy to be anywhere near the planet and force her to take a test that doesn't count for anything, then you get a few really terrible scores.
And, luckily, it was a competition that only happened with the students.
Other students: Oh my gosh, I should have studied more!
Me: UGH I should have just taken a nap!
See, they grade them with numbers--1, 2, 3, and 4. And:
1 means that you did terrible--wrote in a different language or didn't have readable handwriting or wrote something totally unrelated.
2 means that you stayed on topic and your handwriting was readable, but you were totally off so we have to give you a better score than a 1 but we didn't like it. At all.
3 means that you did okay! You stayed on topic and had really good points! So yay! Let's try just a tad harder next time! ;)
4 means that you're perfect(ly good at taking tests that don't count for anything).
So, let's back up to when the tests were going down. There's this huge preparation at the school, the teachers running about and drilling their students. There's no way to know what's on the tests before hand, so they were guessing and just trying to get us to a point where we would be somewhat okay. These tests are pretty stupid.
And when we were hearded into small rooms for two hours at a time to take a test that doesn't count for anything, why yes, I did get grumpy. I did start getting sassy with my answers, and I even started writing patterns into my answer sheet. It was pretty cool, and I loved it with all my heart. Sadly, they said I couldn't take it home, so no pictures here. :(
But, the English extended response was fairly interesting. It was an evolution-based question, and I'm a creationist. The text had implied a lot of things, but it didn't have anything I could quote to make them happy. And, it was just a test that doesn't count for anything, so I thought:
Why bother?
I then continued to write them four pages on how there's a lot of proof against evolution, and there's a lot of iffy-ness in the universe in general. I'm pretty sure I told them to stop teaching that to us as fact because it really isn't. It's stupid. We haven't seen it, we haven't any video footage of it happening, all we have are these theories, not facts.
And honestly, I love talking about evolution. I don't have a problem with it. I just don't like when it's treated like fact on a test that doesn't count for anything. And through a lot of scientific fact and evidence from their text, I told them that.
That, and on the math portion, I knew a triangle was a 3-4-5, so I remember putting down: "BITE ME FOR NOT SHOWING MY WORK WHEN THAT'S OBVIOUS, SUCKERS!"
On both, I got a 2.
I was a sassy tweenager.
Cheers!
Jenn
You sound just like me when it comes to those stupid pointless tests, I always get an attitude with answering the questions.
ReplyDeleteJust when I'm PMSing! ;) Usually I'm pretty good about tests, especially not that the ACT is coming up--and I want at least a 28 for scholarship money. So they *do* matter, just not when they're for younger grades and pointless.
DeleteThe middle schoolers had SAT testing the last week of school, or something along those lines. I don't remember taking those tests. Of course, I was in Germany for sixth and seventh grade, and we took these things called "Terra Nova" tests, which were supposedly über-important and would tell our teachers whether we were learning what we should've been learning or something. I want to say we got bonus points if we scored well, but that was nearly eight years ago, so I'm a little fuzzy.
ReplyDeleteI don't even remember doing that in eighth grade, but that may be because I've tried to erase eighth grade from my memories. It was an absolute nightmare -.- I hated everyone, and they all treated me like I was something on the bottom of a shoe. (It was a rich kids' school, essentially - I was only there because my daddy was working nearby, & that was the only place we could find to rent a house.)
I don't think I'd have the guts to sass XD I always try my best on everything I'm given, even if I'm told that it doesn't exactly count. Guess I'm a weird kid in all respects! :3
That's pretty cool! We always had it a month or two before school get out, and the rest of the year was pointless. But that is pretty awesome that you were in Germany--I feel so jelly! I know it's no fun being shipped all over the place, but, it's still cool to do that. Especially when everyone else is stuck--but, did you take them in English?
DeleteUgh, that doesn't sound like much fun! >.< Though, that's pretty extreme for eight graders. I had rich friends in eighth grade. Just... not... anymore...
If I wasn't PMSing, I'd seriously have tried super hard and not given any sass.(: I'm an excellent student and I usually give 110%. It's just... yeah...
Yes, I took them in English :P It was a school on-base. Some people who were there as civilians had to send their kids to school off-base (I felt bad for those kids, but I never knew any of them personally), but I went to one of the military-run schools :) Everyone spoke English. Most were spouses of soldiers. They'd stay for a few years, leave, and then a new "shipment" of teachers would come in. Endlessly rotating. Although some people retired there, and they kept teaching.
ReplyDeleteIt was bad. Some girl was pouting the first day of school because her mom had bought her the $2,400 purse instead of the $3,200 one that she *really* wanted for her first-week-of-school ensembles. Of course, this girl got a new multi-thousand dollar purse nearly every month. It was ridiculous -.-
Yeah, I don't think I've ever been like that o.o Ever. I may have attempted to murder someone once, but they kinda deserved it, and I'd been having a suckish week anyways...
That's pretty neat! At least everyone was on edge, ya know, so students were on their best behaviour. XD Sounds tiring, though. Did you manage childhood friends? (like, the same ones for ten or so years)
Delete... I'm seriously out of words. I would have gladly taken that purse (actually, probably not, expensive purses can be gaudy and impractical). BUT THE POINT IS THAT that's one of the snobbiest snobs I've ever heard of. But, ya know, first world problems are big deals, too. Obviously.
That's probably a really good thing! (: I don't enjoy it, but it makes for weird stories when I grow up. But, yeah, some people just need it... some days.... .. . . . . .
To be honest, the only friend I've kept in touch with has been Charlie. I've known him for nearly nine years now. (It'll be nine in August.) We did disconnect for about three and a half years, after both of us moved in 2007, but I found him on Facebook through a mutual friend of ours. (Seriously, it's very hard to find someone named "Charles Smith" on facebook -.-)
DeleteI've friended my old friends (at least the ones I made in Germany) on Facebook, but we haven't really talked in years... It's sad, really, how we've grown apart, while the guy I swore I'd never date (at least to their faces) now holds my heart. Of course, I've kinda wanted to marry him since sixth grade...and that feelings only grown stronger over the years o.o Oops.
#FIRSTWORLDPROBLEMS. But seriously, this girl was in my gym class. I don't think she's ever had to lift a finger in her life. -.- I dislike people like that.
Hopefully your daughter won't have the same issues, though! :P