Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Is testing effective?

Tests are bullshit regurgitation devices. You cram information into your brain to spit out the "correct" answer like some kind of obedient lab animal. Too much emphasized is placed on being right, instead of understanding the fundamental reason why the mistake was made in the first place.

Material the was studied and "obtained" is forgotten soon afterward, because the next tests lurks around the corner.

While in theory they should be accurately "testing" your skill set and ability of conceptualizing an idea, however most of the time they do anything but that. They are stressful, time consuming and tedious. All of this to receive a tangible "grade" that you can either boast about or resent.

You are never "allowed" to talk to your peers.
In what facet of life/work do you not talk to anyone?
Don't talk to anyone! Not your boss, client, colleges, subordinates  etc. because it actually might help you.

Tests could be used effectively to help gauge one's understanding of the subject, however, for the most part they have been distorted into some sort of impending doom. Like a hammer that looms above your head, waiting for you to fail, to bonk you on the head to wake you the f*** up.

They are the professor's ace in the hole so tread lightly because your playing on their terms.







43 comments:

  1. I agree, most tests only require that you pay attention instead of use the least bit of brain power.

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  2. So true. I forget the stuff like the minute I walk out of that exam hall.

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  3. @ankmanpro: Same with me :-)
    http://baxxmans.blogspot.com/

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  4. Agreed!
    Love your blog
    ~Followed

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  5. Absolutly! Thanks for making me think about this from your perspective! ;)

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  6. somebody has to tell the truth about tests!
    I follow your blog!

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  7. I usually don't fail written tests, but I just failed my driving test :[

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  8. I like test, because i dont fail if i study :D

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  9. Also the system itself fails. A lot of unuseful things are being teached, but things like psychology, philosophy, which are very useful to increase knowledge, are not.

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  10. i'm following!
    could be interesting here

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  11. Tests can be a good way to tell whether or not you fully understand the material, but I think we put too much of an emphasis on them! But it's how things go, you can't be the best at everything.


    Following and supporting

    Garage Zoku

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  12. Plus 60% of students in college, cheat there way through everything anyways.

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  13. I completely agree with this post! Very insightful. Will follow!

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  14. haha this is awesome and i completely agree

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  15. Well, all types of examination have their flaws.

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  16. I completely agree with you, but what can we do about ? Sociaty is filled with this king of "bugs" and we can't do nothin about it

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  17. Nah... i didn't fail any test! And i am very lucky :)

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  18. memories of the dang periodic table coming back now..

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  19. I used to excel at tests just because they were so mind numbingly dull I could sail right through them. To me, they prove almost nothing of retained knowledge especially if they're multiple choice.

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  20. I just wanna get my degree to get my parents off my back!

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  21. Testing isn't very effective at measuring knowledge all the time, but one can breeze through them if they have good judgment.

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  22. You're right, but on the other hand, students won't study if they know there won't be a test.

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  23. I think the tests need to be restructured rather than removed

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  24. I think that a test can do its job well, however I think that good tests are very far and in between. I personally like having smaller more frequent quizzes rather than large infrequent tests. It keeps the brain more active in my opinion.

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  25. Tests are nonsense. And yet, somehow a few people manage to learn things at school.

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  26. Its stupid the way the system works.

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  27. Nothing worse than studying for 2 weeks and then barely failing.

    On the flipside, gotta love those moments were you cram for like 2 days and still pass surprisingly high :D

    http://freekjensen.blogspot.com

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  28. RE:ghi said...
    I completely agree with you, but what can we do about ? Sociaty is filled with this king of "bugs" and we can't do nothin about it

    yeah that kind of attitude is WHY these unbalanced systems STILL exist in the first place.

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  29. re:Egan said...
    I think the tests need to be restructured rather than removed

    couldn't agree with you more!!

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  30. i've failed my share of tests :( don't worry about it!

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  31. Love this post, followed for hopefully more like it in the future :)

    I agree that way too much emphasis is put on exams. They are an ineffective way to measure a group's understanding of content (which is what matters), and only somewhat effective (and also very time-sensitive - most people memorize information for the test, and not for anything else after that) at gauging an individual's understanding of a topic.

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  32. Tests are more like pressure simulated events that supposed to prepare you irl, but can't.

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