Ch. 7 Literature, Knowledge, and the High School Graduate Pytash

I have always had mixed feelings about standardized testing.  Students should be assessed on the education that they have attained, but standardized testing is not the best solution.  It is not fair for the students who have difficulty taking tests during time constraints, and sometimes students are just poor test takers because of the stress it exerts on them.  While the ability for the students to take the test are important negative factors, it is also important to recognize the effects it has on the curriculum.  Teachers are forced to prepare students for various tests, and this can take away from the core material that needs to be covered.  Units can be lost and students are deprived of these lessons just because of test preparation. 
Even though I do not agree with standardized testing, students should still be able to display good test taking skills.  They should know how to answer various questions to display the knowledge that they have gained from the teacher.  It is vital for students to know how to write a nicely structured essay and support their ideas with quotes from different texts.  What I really liked in this chapter was the way Jago applied the classics to students lives, to add relevance.  I also thought it was a good idea to give students options for the questions they answered on their tests.  By giving students options they are able to choose the question that they are able to answer and best, and this give students the perfect opportunity to show off their writing abilities.  When students feel like they are able to answer a question completely and fully, the more confident they are in writing their response, and the better it becomes.