Resolved: Public high school students in the United States ought be required to pass standardize

Throughout my opponent arguments he has shown a number of contradictions which I wish to expose during this round. On one hand my opponent has constantly referred to exit exams just certifying "basic competence" and allowing people who fail it to have it "retaken at regular intervals". On the other hand in his response to my contention [C] he argues for raising the standard on exit exams. Throughout his arguments he keeps advocating to make tests harder while at the same time making them easier. As I've proven even raising the standards have no effect. The problem is the test themselves. "Young high school graduates who obtained their diplomas in exit exam states fared no better in the labor market than their peers who obtained their diplomas in other states. These findings held in states with minimum competency exit exams AND in states with higher competency exit exams." [A] He goes on to claim that stress helps students. I strongly dispute this claim as it has been proven that learning under stressful conditional conditions impairs just that, learning. [1, Figure 2] Pro goes onto to continue to say that the test can "be repeated many times". But if a student continues to repeat a test with the sole purpose of passing are they really learning? It becomes this rhythmic process where students just try to learn the answer; A, B, C, or D rather then learn the information. Pro attempts to refute the fact that the exam does not have a significant factor on a students life. Then I ask you about the girl from Minnesota who would've lost an entire year of her life having to repeat a grade she didn't need to because someone messed up grading a test. [B] The statement "What isn't tested doesn't exist." is actually quote from my article http://www.education.com... from the previous round, written and sourced by TEACHERS. As I've mentioned throughout my arguments there is reduced funding and time spent on other subjects when there is standardized testing. (Round 1) For the third time I'll repeat that 6% of our employment comes from the arts; it's far to important to ignore. Let me leave you with another quote from that article: "At our school, third- and fourth-grade teachers are told not to teach social studies and science until March." Sounds to me like it doesn't exist. [C] "I previously offered evidence that the high school degree is viewed as meaningless by employers, and it remains meaningless if exit exams do not do their job." True, but you also ignored my point I put out last round which I'll repeat for you. "As I've said before 2/3 of students are already taking exit exams, and seeing as you said employers do not think diplomas mean anything, that would seem to support the fact that standardized testing does not mean anything. Simply put: Employers do not think diplomas mean anything. 2/3 of Students with diplomas have had to of passed a exit exam. Therefore employers do not think passing an exit exam means anything." [D] The problem with tests is that you can't always test what it important. What is important varies from person to person. If I want to become a graphic designer then that is what is important to me. Standardized tests are this "one size fits all." mentality that doesn't work in today's schools or economy. Teachers should be free to pass someone if they adequately show they have excel in what's important to them and have shown they have learned. That's the point of school after all isn't it? There are a multitude of ways to do this such as student projects, portfolios, essays, and class discussions. [E] Responded to in point [D]. [F] Take note my opponent has admitted has admitted tests have "poor test questions having ambiguous answers". She had the knowledge, but the test was a poor way to assess it. As I've stated before why should we risk are children's education when there are so many better ways to teach and assess knowledge! The luck component was strong because for a multitude of reasons as I've stated throughout the debate. For example : "On the SAT, for example, the test-makers admit that two students' scores must differ by at least 144 points (out of 1600) before they are willing to say the students' measured abilities really differ." [G] Pro it's not my job to sort through your contentions or find them on the net to build your case. If you read the entire article you know what I took out of the article and referenced. "Despite this spending, the United States ranked fifteenth among the thirty-one countries that participated in the OECD's 2000 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) reading exam. Ireland, Iceland, and New Zealand were among those that outperformed us while spending far less per pupil. " This also refutes the point that they do not test language. Pro claims that we should follow Asian countries,but that is not far of a comparison rather then comparing us to Europe. Not only do they privatize schools , but it's ingrained in their culture that they are hard workers. [3] "I will agree that standardized testing is not the most important element of education." That's the problem thought. When you have standardized test it becomes the most important element of education. We need to let teachers do what they were hired for. Teacher. And we need to let students do what they should. Learn. Standardized testing impedes on this. I think voters should also note all of my 7 contentions stand while my opponent has infused his 3 contention in rebuttals. Sources [1]http://www.sciencedirect.com... [2]http://www.fairtest.org... [3]http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:6B6W8fx02QEJ:www.iiisci.org/journal/CV%24/sci/pdfs/ZZ531YV.pdf+asian+work+ethic+study&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us