Friday, September 30, 2011
Just one of those weird things we do.
Tomorrow morning, about half a million people will crowd into university testing halls and take the LSAT, the Law School Admissions Test. (I'm one of them.) But it got me thinking--the whole standardized test education system is kind of a unique institution. We do it a number of times in our educational careers You take the SAT and ACT when you are graduating from high school and starting college, the GMAT or GRE or LSAT or MCAT, depending on what you want to do after you finish your undergraduate degree. And those of us who grew up going to public schools took all kinds of standardized tests, from the time we were in the first grade.
It makes sense, that we use this type of system in order to compare what is happening in educational systems across a very large country, but still, it seems like one kind of interesting aspect of the knowledge institution we are a part of. There's not really anything oral about the LSAT or other standardized tests, but the fact that our group was specifically assigned to examine education institutions this week made me think about it differently than I previously had. I wonder where it came from and whether or not any other civilizations have employed a similar one.
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Interesting comment Lauren and good luck with your test. I hope you do (and/or did if you read this late) well on your test. I think that this system is not super huge in history but I do know that it was used. In ancient Japan or China or something they used to have like a civil service exam for government positions and stuff. It wasn't open to everyone, you still had to be well off to be able to compete, but they had the test to get the position.
ReplyDeleteOther "tests" that relate to our class discussion on ritual would include the Catechism and Bat Mitzvahs. Members of a group had to pass a ritualistic test to be permitted to proceed as full members of their society. There were of course harder versions the more exclusive the society. Like Priests having to learn the Mass and Sacraments before being authorized.
ReplyDeleteHmm... Yes, I think modern societies are unique in requiring written examinations to test knowledge and learning proficiency. I feel like other civilizations had more practical exams, ones where you had to do what you would be doing, like talking to people, or cooking a certain dish. But if we say that, a written test really is what we will be doing, reading and writing to try and communicate our point.
ReplyDelete"Standardized" tests are a whole different kettle of fish though. Whether people, with all different strengths and weaknesses should be evaluated in the same manner and compared is a hot topic in educational discussion right now. Besides the fact of "teaching to the test" and having to learn what will be evaluated instead of what is important to you.
This post got me thinking about all types of tests that we have everyday. Not just tests that determine our understanding of knowledge, but rather moral tests that determine our character. Usually, the morals and standards an individual has are taught and passed on through example. These morals are challenged often and many times can be tested orally (for example: choosing to swear or lie, etc.) But as a sign in the BYU testing center reads: "Be grateful for tests in life. If you're not tested, it means you are not worth testing."- Theodore M Burton
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