Cl^arlotU $ot
Published the 3rd
Thursday of each month
How to succeed in class
If you are interested in learning
more about Advanced Studies or
other challenging CMS pro
grams, please contact your
school’s guidance counselor or
call (980) 444-2795..
What can test scores tell us about a student?
By Jade Bush
MYERS PARK HIGH SCHOOL
It can sometimes be hard to distinguish the
best and brightest students from the excep
tional, and those that may need help in certain
areas. Educational institutions have become
too dependent on test results
to make such distinctions in
students.
Tests are ineffiecient in
shoving the level of knowl
edge that a student has, show
ing what skills a student has,
or predicting the future suc
cess of students.
AH of the factors that can
skew the results of a test no
matter how smart a student is
such as nervousness, time
Jade
spent studying, getting enough sleep, having a
good breakfast, etc. can make a student per
form poorly on a test. When such problems are
present to some students and not others those
students are already at a disadvantage before
they even take the test which automatically
makes the test results invalid, which means
that the future success of students can not be
predicted by such methods.
I have been recognized with several national
awards such as National Society of High
School Scholars, Who’s Who Among American
High School Students, and Outstanding
Students of America. Along with these awards
I have maintained over a 4.0 grade point aver
age dming my junior and senior year and plan
to go to college in the fall of 2004.
If I had to be picked as one of the smartest
students in my graduating class based on
some of my test scores I would be passed over
becasue I do not do well tests sometimes.
The Advance Placement (AP) exams are used
in predicting how well students will do in col
lege, but if you saw my AP scores you would
think I planned on working at a fast food
restaurant for the rest of my life instead of
going to college and majoring in nursing. Even
though I did well in my AP classes, I did not
pass my exams even though I knew the mate
rial fairly well. I am not the only student with
such a wonderful high school resume that has
done poorly on a test.
You can not efficiently predict the success of
students by looking at tests because there is so
much more to students than a few tests scores.
Furthermore there is a bigger problem with
testing than being invalid.
So many students feel that they will be
judged by their test scores that they are going
to the extreme of cheating to be able to do well
on tests.
These students are smart because they know
that someone is going to look at the results of
their test and try to label them and these stu
dents know that they have a good chance of not
being well represented by a test score.
If students are going to go to this extreme to
do well then it is defeating the purpose of the
test because students realize that they are
smart and have a high potential to do well in
school but that their test scores are represent
ing all of their hard work and they want it to
be a valid representation.
I know that there has to be some amount of
testing to see how students are doing in class
es but these extra tests that define students by
test scores such as the SAT need to be ended.
Too much emphasis is put on testing to the
point that students have gone to cheating
because they know that test results do not let
people know anything about how smart and
successful the student is.
Beyond that I feel that it is unhealthy to
label students by a nmnber because aU that
does is make them feel that they are not good
enough if they are ‘less than perfect” or do not
have a 100.
There has to be another way to get to know
these students that would help more students
to be successful aU throughout fife.
Alter testing’s goal
By Brandon Kearns
NORTH MECKLENBURG HIGH
The state uses tests to determine how well
we as students have been taught based on the
curriculmn.
There are usually cumulative tests at the
end of each school year some of which promo
tion to the next grade level is contingent upon.
These tests contain various facets of the mate
rial that we are to be taught. The amount of
testing throughout any given year is suffi
cient, but not effective. Whether a student
continues in his educational career should not
be determined by a standardized test.
When the results come back the state deter
mines the student’s level of success based on
his score, not his performance throughout the
year. This is unfair to the student that has an
understanding of the material but performs
poorly on tests. Tfest anxiety is a major factor
in determining how well one performs.
There is so much pressure from teachers
and the school district to do well on the test
that when test day comes, the students
become nervous. Students feel like they
have to do well on this test so some students
go to such extremes as to cheat in an effort
not to let their school down. The tests
should not be the determining factor of our
success throughout school but rather a com
plement to the work that we have done.
However, getting used to taking tests now
will help us in the future. The tests are good
preparation for college where tests do deter
mine one’s success.
The state should alter its evaluation of a
pupil’s mastery of the knowledge.
Implementing a program where the test is a
certain percentage of the student’s promo
tion along with his performance during the
year would be a great idea.
Why is academic integrity important?
By Daisha Harris
PIEDMONT OPEN MIDDLE
First, what is academic integrity? It is
when you’re honest about your work. It is
important because if you aren’t honest,
you have victims while you’re doing it.
You’re probably wondering who.
You have yourself, faculty, other stu
dents and society. How? You don’t give
yourself the opportunity to develop your
own ideas within a learning structure.
The faculty is responsible for your acade
mic understanding and they are defraud
ed.
Other students’ honest work is com
pared to plagiarized work. The bad things
are the penalties. Some of them are...for
mal warnings, a reduced grade on an
assignment, a reduced grade on the whole
course.
Now here’s where it gets bad; suspen
sion from the university maybe for years,
expelled from.the university, or graduate
assistants can lose their jobs. How does
that happen? You are brought before a
Integrity Board made up of the depart
ment chair, a student representative, and
a professor.
They decide what will happen to you.
You can appeal their decision, but do you
really want to go through all that stuff
just because you were being dishonest?
Does the stress of tests
cause students to cheat?
By Kisha Oliphant
JT WILUAMS MIDDLE SCHOOL
I think that stress has nothing to do with
kids cheating on tests. The reason
is that they have the choice to study or not
to study. If they choose not to study
for that particular test, then my opinion is
that they have made up their minds to flunk
or cheat. Also, the teacher lets you know
about a test before you have it.
Some students begin to panic when they
find out that they are going to have a test.
They just don’t know what to do. My advice
to you is not to panic. The best thing for you
to do is to take aU the notes that you can so
you can study. When you go home you should
study for at least an hour.
When you study make sure you are in a nice
and quiet place. If not you can and -will be dis
tracted by anything. If you are tiying to study
while the radio or TV is on you need to cut it
off You will be tempted to sing or watch TV
otherwise.
In school, sitting at your desk, your teacher
will usually let you study for at least ten min
utes. During that time you should not be talk
ing or playing around you should be studying.
Don’t assume that since you studied last
night that you know everything. You could
freeze up at the last minute!
All of these hints could cause stress.
However, I think that you should just study
and hope for the best. If you are prepared to
do well you will do well.
Testing, Testing and more testing
Just as sure as paying taxes; Students in schools are going to take standardized tests.
Students have been involved in testing since their primary years through high school in
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Now it is time to find out how students feel about the
amount of testing they participate in and what effect it has on them.
Compare bright
to gifted students
Bright Child
Knows the answers.
Is attentive.
Works hard.
'Ibp group
Learns with ease.
Understands ideas.
Grasps the meaning.
Is receptive.
Enjoys school.
Technician.
Enjoys straight for
ward, sequential pre
sentation
Is pleased with own
learning
Is highly curious
Has wild, silly ideas
Discusses in detail,
elaborates
Already knows.
Shows strong feel
ings and opinions
1-2 repetitions for
mastery
Constructs abstrac
tions.
Is intense.
Initiates projects
Enjoys learning.
Creates a new
design
Manipulates infor
mation
Good guesser
Is keenly observant.
Gifted Child
Is interested.
Has good ides.
Answers the ques
tions.
Listens with inter
est.
6-8 repetitions for
mastery.
Enjoys peers.
Completes assign
ments.
Copies accurately.
Absorbs information
Good memorizer
Is alert.
Asks the questions
Is mentally and
physically involved.
Plays around, yet
tests well.
Beyond the group.
Already knows.
Constructs abstrac
tions.
Draws inferences.
Is intense.
Enjoys learning.
Inventor.
Thrives on complexi
ty-
Is highly self-critical.
Honesty: It’s
still best policy
By Ankur Sarma
RANDOLPH MIDDLE SCHOOL
You must be wondering what is honesty? Why is
important m our eveiyday life?
To maintain honesty is veiy important to a per
son because yom- reputation in society depends on
your honest character. Most people appreciate
people who are honest and dependable. You must
have heard the famous saying “honesty is the
best policy.” On this veiy saying many people has
achieved success.
Honesty is one of the guidelines that lead a per
son to a good and prosperous life.
Honesty is like a glitter in the diamond that
shows out even in the darkest place. A person that
is honest to people is respected and is placed at a
high status, that one who is a bar and cheats peo
ple is looked upon and also is not invited to social
activities, people don’t like to mix around a person
with such qualities.
These qualities of a honest person tells us that
these kind of people
Are not found easily today but are veiy much
needed in this world.
Money can be earned through cheating and
deceiving people but one’s reputations can be
earned through honest deeds only.