SAT Writing Prompts

At the end of my conclusion I wrote, “All of the weaknesses can be toned down if I just proofread my essays and think to myself if the paper met all the goals I was aiming for”, instead of putting this at the end of my sentence I would have put a solid thesis statement instead. There were many different lessons I learned during the English 101 class, I would make all the changes in the diagnostic essay because of the concepts we learned in class. The most important lessons I learned in class were the grammar lessons and making all of my papers logical. Without the grammar lessons my papers wouldn’t sound proper, and making my papers logical made it easier for the reader to understand. The lessons that I learned in class made me realize what I needed to do in all of my

Ankur signh is a former college student who has experienced the horror of standardized testing. When Ankur Signh was a senior in high school, he made the decision to enroll into an English Ap class hoping that it would be beneficial and help him grow as a writer. Although he enjoyed the literature readings, Ankur felts as if the course didn’t help him with his critical thinking and writing, it prepared him for an exam that he would have to take at the end of the year. Instead of analyzing themes and characters, he was given questions and essay assignments. He ended up doing very poor in AP english and he feels like he learned more about preparing for a test than genuinely learning.

These tests control what and how instructors teach. In addition, the students are limited in what they can write about. Au and Gourd give an example stating “…teachers report that how they teach writing, as well as the types of writing students are asked to perform are being controlled by high-stakes tests” (Au and Gourd 14-19). Instructors are showing their students a certain format that will be found on the test, instead of teaching them a writing style that can help through the years of essays to come. They are not giving studnets the tools on how to write, but they are showing the studnets how to pass a test.

If an extra 2 years of college originally happened without guided pathways, what problem are they solving? This essay leads up to the readers to realize what small problems can be coming from Guided Pathways. Students are still not finishing on time and making career decisions even more difficult due to the fact that they aren 't allowed to switch majors/courses whenever they don 't feel comfortable anymore. The purpose for this paper to make improvements in this program, instead of just throwing out all the qualities it has offered. Some other issues I have come to notice are why are students spending so much time and money on classes that are useless for them?

So many people graduate from high school without learn all the important knowledge offered during this educational period. Low levels in reading and writing would affect the student’s performance when their start college education. In order to succeed in any mayor in college it is fundamental to read and write properly. Therefore developmental classes as ENF1 and ENFE2 are necessary to improve, development and enhance writing and reading skills. In first place is important to remember that no matter what career students are pursuing; they will always need to write essay and different papers in their classes.

A Big Think (2011) article stated “The trick for educators, colleges, and individuals is remembering that test scores are merely one (imperfect) indicator of how you stack up against the crowd, not an assessment of any your future potential” (p. 1). A test should not be a success indicator. I have learned that human behavior is unpredictable, so we cannot assume a number will determine a student 's success. Claude Steele (2012), Psychologist, pointed out that the SAT only measures about 18 percent of the things that it takes to do well in school. The SAT doesn’t effectively measure the elements which have been learned throughout high school; instead it seems to test how well of a test taker people are.

The purpose of this test was to assist in the evaluation of an individual students’ ability to excel in college, which of course, hasn’t been doing a great job. And to make matters worse, the same students that are earning A’s of B’s in their AP, honors, or duel enrolled classes, are having their fate determined because their test scores aren’t deemed worthy for recognition. Thousands of colleges and universities are missing out on the opportunity of having excellent and well-determined students at their school, because there too gung ho about the “cut-off” (or minimum) score. Colleges that are too focused on the cut-off score are subliminally reminding students that good grades do not matter; volunteer hours aren’t really a big deal; receiving awards isn’t anything special; unless they have the high SAT or ACT score to validate it. This can make a student feel like everything they worked so hard to accomplish was a complete waste of time.

The number of tests that students have to take removes their ability to be creative and have an opinion. Bronwyn Williams expresses this when she says, “Standardized testing, to be standardized, must create questions that leave no room for interpretation…allow for no independent meaning making from students.” (154). I personally have experienced “teaching to the test” with taking Advanced Placement tests where teachers teach the test and not the information. Headden shows her despite of teaching to the test with her description of what is lost when teachers solely focus on the test and its results (A12). Her list includes: “vocabulary” “character”, and “high-order thinking” (Headden A12).

Because of the pressure it puts on the taker, many people believe that it should be completely abolished; this however is a total over reaction to the situation. Yes it is true that a very important test can cause stress, but we would not have to be taking it if it was not important. standardized testing it an essential tool for judging a student skill level. If it was removed it would allow people who are not cut out or not ready for collage to enter collage, this would cause a fault to form in the education system that could be detrimental to the future generations. Tests are a part of learning; they are used to find out if a student has retained the information that has been given to them.

Does Standardized Test Define You As A Person? School isn’t about learning anymore it’s about teaching us to pass a test! To expect the average student to manage their already challenging schedule while simultaneously studying for the ACT or SAT is unrealistic and unfair. American students are spending most of their school hours preparing for standardized tests rather than learning quality stuff. Some American schools test over every subject putting even more pressure students.

You had to get a certain amount of points to get a good grade in the class. This system was supposed to be a way to encourage us beginning middle school students to read, we were supposed to be excited about competing against each other and about the (pointless) rewards, but the opposite is what actually happened. No, we didn’t all band together and stage a revolt, but it made virtually all of us turn against reading and everything it stood for. It was stressful, and, to me at least, was the most horrible thing a teacher had ever asked me to do. It disgusted me and ruined English class for me for a good three years