Recently my classmate, Caitlin, published a blog post entitled Stressed and Standardized to her blog Ideas are Bulletproof. Her premise was that standardized tests have become a definite issue in public schools. Beginning with her own experience, she recalled “I don’t remember other kids being stressed out by the test.” Then she explained how, through her work as a nanny, she has become aware of the stress and worry the kids she knows are going through because of the upcoming STARR tests. In conclusion, my classmate argued that the tests aren't helping children perform better in school. She stated that standardized testing is “just not a fair assessment of what they are capable of.” Finally, she ended by suggesting that the government institute a pre-test and a post-test for students in order to gain the most accurate and fair picture of their progress.

     Let me just say how much I appreciate this post. For many years people have debated the effectiveness of standardized testing, but from an academic perspective. My classmate has managed to present a personal experience that sheds light on a real problem. Unfortunately she does not include any outside references or statistics, which hurts her credibility some. Also by admitting that her own experience with standardized tests wasn't stressful she undermined her main point a little bit. However, through logical, personal, and professional examples she explained her argument effectively. 

     In the end then, my classmate’s post was very pointed and well-reasoned. She drew attention to an issue that indirectly affects her and directly affects people that she cares about. While she didn't include research and outside perspectives, she still presented a valid argument. And at the end, rather than merely listing a bunch of negatives, she offered a solution for positive action that might fix the problem. Thank you Caitlin, for bringing some personal vision to the discussion of standardized testing.