Teaching to the Test by Lauren

Teaching to the Test by Lauren - January 2015 Scholarship Essay

Every student is different. We all have different strengths, weaknesses, and ways of learning. The key to effective education is to find a balance in which the teachers convey their thoughts and the students are able to grasp and understand the concepts taught to them. If I were to give a teacher one piece of advice to assist myself in learning, it would be to establish a connection between the classroom concepts and the real world in which the concepts are practiced. As a first year college student, I have come to realize that in order to fully comprehend the lessons that are taught to me in class it is crucial to apply them to your day-to-day life. Experts suggest three hours of studying per one hour spent in class. For me, three hours of studying is a start to my learning practice, but I believe it would be more effective with a real world connection to connect to. To learn and comprehend classroom learning objectives is to see them working full swing in reality.

“Teaching to the test” is an educational practice commonly used in public middle and high schools where curriculum is heavily focused on preparing students for a standardized test. This practice is aimed at achieving high test scores-which it often fails to do- and the impact of the lessons and concepts on the students’ brain do not help to achieve a thorough understanding of the subject matter. “Teaching to the test” limits students’ knowledge and skills to only what is being tested, not whether or not they can apply these concepts to real life circumstances. The result of this is an unsound focus on plethoric repetition of simple skills (known as “drill and kill”) and prevents the teacher from being able to focus on a comprehensive understanding of the materials. Research proves that teachers whom engage in teaching to the test are typically considered to be below-average teachers. Throughout my years as a student, I have personally experienced far too many teachers whom teach to the test. Not so coincidently, the teachers that taught using this educational practice were the ones whom left no impact on my brain or life.

Learning is active, engaging, and social. Students need to be engaged and motivated in their learning before they can apply higher-order creative thinking skills. They are most engaged when they themselves are part of constructing meaning in the course material, not when teachers do it for them. By encouraging students to meet challenges creatively, collaborate, and apply critical-thinking skills to real-world, unpredictable situations inside and outside of school, we prepare them for future college, career, and citizenship success. A personal experience in which I applied my education in a real life experience is when my high school Italian class travelled to Italy for ten days. Having studied Italian for six years prior to the trip and also being of Italian heritage, I had entered Italy with an enormous amount of background and knowledge of the language, culture, and history of this beautiful country. At the time of the voyage I was enrolled in AP Italian and was beginning to struggle a bit with the new and unfamiliar advanced levels of grammaticism and sentence structure. Being in the country and interacting with native Italians and their language really intrigued me and truly tested my comprehension of my six years of Italian studies. Greeting Italians, ordering meals, and asking questions in Italian for over a week was a tremendous yet exciting challenge. I became very comfortable with my speaking skills after multiple Italians informed me that they were unaware I was an American. Upon returning from my travels, my teacher and I had noticed a significant raise in my Italian test scores. Having experienced the life of an Italian left a huge impact on myself and my education. After returning from Italy I recognized the significance of learning and using the language in a hands-on way in the language’s place of origin. Finally I felt as if all of the previously acquired knowledge had a real conceptual understanding imbedded in my brain.

To learn and comprehend classroom objectives is to see them working full swing in reality. Three hours of studying per one hour spent in the classroom is just not enough for some students. Hands-on learners such as me cannot just reread the same textbook in order to grasp lessons. It is vital to look elsewhere and apply schooling to life. The circumstance in which I went to Italy is rare, and I know I was extremely privileged in being able to have such an experience. However, the resulted impact of the trip can happen to all students if teachers and students alike take the extra effort in creating a connection between school and their outside of school life. My advice to a teacher whom would be assisting me in learning is to give their full effort in not just me, but all students, in implementing the relation between the classroom and the world.