Problems of Standardized Tests for Writing Teachers Essay -- Standardiz

As a teacher of English at the High School level, and therefore an instructor of writing, one is faced with a myriad of problems that seem to fester in the teacher’s mind without answer. The problems, or shall we say challenges, that a writing instructor faces can include, but are not limited to, the validity of standard assessment tools, state regulations for the style of composition taught, institutional standards set forth by the particular district one teaches in, the common problem of structure versus content in assessment, and the unchangeable issues students deal with at home and in their previous writing courses. Each of the problems stated offer the instructor a series of challenges that can grow to seem insurmountable, though the most difficult of all of the challenges, especially in my young career as a teacher of writing, is the state mandated Regents and English Language Arts examinations. While the standardized tests are designed as benchmarks for a grade level t o have met, they are problematic for the writing teacher in several ways. Aside from the problems one faces due to the pressure of the exams, the writing instructor must also deal with the inevitable question of why should writing be taught, and how should it be taught with the inherent roadblocks built into the current New York State education system? On one hand, the application of various pedagogies is essential to examine, though if the instructor has not decided why he or she should be teaching the material in the first place, the actual instruction will collapse. In other words, the teacher must know why he or she is teaching writing before that teacher examines how to teach writing. My intentions, though, are not to convince anyone of my philosophie... ...hing of literature, character, expository writing, persuasive writing, personal writing, creative writing, and all other tasks lumped into what the state refers to as English Language Arts. At this point in my career as a teacher, just one full year experience, I find more often than not that I have not come up with answers for the many questions involved with the realm of writing in the shadow of the exam. Furthermore, the answers that I do test seem to always fall short in one respect or another. Thus my education continues. Most teachers denounce the test as something to deal with in a most unfortunate way, though in my optimistic youthful career, I hope to find a way to use the exam as a tool to foster writers. Complaining about the exam won’t change the fact that it exists, so we as writing teachers must accept the challenges we face as opportunities to succeed. Problems of Standardized Tests for Writing Teachers Essay -- Standardiz As a teacher of English at the High School level, and therefore an instructor of writing, one is faced with a myriad of problems that seem to fester in the teacher’s mind without answer. The problems, or shall we say challenges, that a writing instructor faces can include, but are not limited to, the validity of standard assessment tools, state regulations for the style of composition taught, institutional standards set forth by the particular district one teaches in, the common problem of structure versus content in assessment, and the unchangeable issues students deal with at home and in their previous writing courses. Each of the problems stated offer the instructor a series of challenges that can grow to seem insurmountable, though the most difficult of all of the challenges, especially in my young career as a teacher of writing, is the state mandated Regents and English Language Arts examinations. While the standardized tests are designed as benchmarks for a grade level t o have met, they are problematic for the writing teacher in several ways. Aside from the problems one faces due to the pressure of the exams, the writing instructor must also deal with the inevitable question of why should writing be taught, and how should it be taught with the inherent roadblocks built into the current New York State education system? On one hand, the application of various pedagogies is essential to examine, though if the instructor has not decided why he or she should be teaching the material in the first place, the actual instruction will collapse. In other words, the teacher must know why he or she is teaching writing before that teacher examines how to teach writing. My intentions, though, are not to convince anyone of my philosophie... ...hing of literature, character, expository writing, persuasive writing, personal writing, creative writing, and all other tasks lumped into what the state refers to as English Language Arts. At this point in my career as a teacher, just one full year experience, I find more often than not that I have not come up with answers for the many questions involved with the realm of writing in the shadow of the exam. Furthermore, the answers that I do test seem to always fall short in one respect or another. Thus my education continues. Most teachers denounce the test as something to deal with in a most unfortunate way, though in my optimistic youthful career, I hope to find a way to use the exam as a tool to foster writers. Complaining about the exam won’t change the fact that it exists, so we as writing teachers must accept the challenges we face as opportunities to succeed.