Public High School Students ought not be Required to Pass Exit Exams to Graduate

I haven't been able to have anybody proof read this. Sorry for any errors that you might find. I Affirm. Standardized Test A standardized test is a test administered and scored in a consistent manner. The tests are designed in such a way that the "questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are consistent" [1] and are "administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner." A 'Standardized Exit Exam' is a standardized test required at the end of high school in order to graduate. 1.^ Sylvan Learning glossary, retrieved online, source no longer available 2.^ Popham, J. (1999). Why standardized tests don't measure educational quality. Educational Leadership, 56(6), 8-15. The value for this round is The Pursuit of Happiness. 1. It is a constitutional right. The resolution is specific to America, thus we agree that any violation of the pursuit of happiness is unjust. 2. We need the ability to pursue happiness in our lives to make them meaningful. Absent the ability to pursue happiness, where is my motivation to live? Taking away the right to pursue happiness devalues our lives and dehumanizes us. 3. People who are happy and have a positive mindset consistently perform better in most activities than those who are depressed, thus happiness has pragmatic benefits. The criterion I will use to measure our ability to pursue happiness is: the ability to enjoy golf. According to the National Golf Foundation, in America alone the number of people who play golf frequently is approximately 7 million, and the number who play golf recreationally when possible is nearly thrice that amount. Of channels dedicated to a specific sport, the Golf Channel was the second most viewed after Speed in a survey conducted by Sports Business Daily. The Golf Channel was also the fastest growing, its viewers having increased by 33% that year. ESPN airing of golf regularly brings in 1,000,000+ viewers with over 4.5 million watching Tiger Woods play in the US Open. Millions of people enjoy golf through playing or watching it, so harming the ability to enjoy golf is going to affect millions of people and their ability to pursue happiness. --- Contention One: Standardized tests deplete the world's graphite resources. Graphite is the material of choice for golf club shafts, which make up the majority of the club. The clubs in practically every professional golfer's bags are almost always graphite, Tiger Woods for example. In addition, graphite is also the best choice for amateurs. "Graphite shafts became popular among amateurs, because lighter weight helped generate increased club-head speed. The carbon fiber also dissipated some of the stinging vibrations that were caused by poorly struck shots." Without graphite clubs, gold would be far less enjoyable to both those who play golf and those who watch golf. Most uses of graphite, including golf clubs, can be recycled. Pencil graphite, once put on paper, cannot be recycled, however. This means that the widespread use of pencils causes our stores of graphite to be ever depleting. This is bad for a multitude of reasons, for example: 1. The more we use pencils, the more we draw closer to the point where graphite clubs as we know them will be non-existent. This will make golf much less enjoyable to watch because the professionals won't be able to golf nearly as well with inferior clubs, and it will make golf much less enjoyable to play because it will be much more difficult and frustrating to play. 2. The only other even viable alternative to graphite in club shafts is steel. However, graphite is used in the process of making steel, so with this depletion of graphite steel golf clubs will not be an alternative either. This furthers the impacts of the above point 1. 3. With continued use of pencils depleting our stores of graphite, we are not far from a graphite shortage on our hands. Within the next 50 years, golf club prices could drastically increase due to the need for graphite rationing. This would make golf a classist game where poor people would lose the ability to effectively play golf because of their inability to now purchase decent clubs. While most places where pencils are used in society (golf score cards being one example) can be replaced with pens, markers, or other writing utensils, or even pencils with non-graphite centers (see links for examples), standardized tests rely heavily on graphite pencils. These tests can only be administered effectively with the use of #2 (HB in many countries) pencils, with little variation. We do not have the technology in place to mechanically grade tests by any other means and human grading is not feasible because it allows for human error, is extremely time consuming and expensive, and gives students the possibility to bribe/ cheat/ manipulated scorers to obtain higher test scores. --- Contention Two: The mindset standardization advocates is harmful to future golfers. How do we standardize a test? We write an answer key that determines which answers are right and which are wrong, and the test is scored on how often the student gives the 'desired' response. This harms critical student's abilities to golf. First, test takers are required to answer in accordance with some predetermined answer key. I have to give the answer that is generally accepted as correct in order for my answer to be counted right. This means that the only questions that can be on this test are the ones that require no actual thought. I simply memorize the correct answer and recite it. There is no way for students to be graded on how well they respond to questions with no clear answer, so there is no way to be sure that they can even think for themselves at all. Second, there is no way to know how you got your answer. You either gave the right answer or you didn't, end of story. The test can't judge the reasoning behind your answer, and it can't ask you to show your work. There is no way it can know if you were able to come up with the conclusion on your own or if you just repeated what your teacher taught you verbatim. This means there is no way a standardized exam can test on anything more complex than the simplest questions of 'right or wrong?', 'yes or no?' and it can't determine any difference in whether you made a complete guess, if you just memorized and recited the response. When we use a test as flawed as this as a stand-alone criterion to graduate, we inevitably force students to put a huge importance on it in their lives. This means prepping and studying to get ready. This entire system forces students to conform to the 'Right or Wrong' format of all standardized tests (not just multiple choice) which forces them into abiding by this system of thought. By doing this we severely impair their ability to play golf because when they get out on the golf course, they can't help but take what they've learned in school with them. Golf is not a game of right or wrong and yes or no. It requires skill and practical application. It requires logic and making decisions with no clear correct answer. By implementing standardized tests we teach students that those skills are unimportant, so when they go out to golf, they are unprepared and will do more poorly than if they were. Professionals who have gone through this post-standardization public school system will be affected, thus making competitive golf less enjoyable to watch, and people who play golf will play more poorly when suffering from this mindset, and will be less able to enjoy themselves when playing. http://en.wikipedia.org... http://en.wikipedia.org... http://www.recyclinggarbage.net... http://en.wikipedia.org...(golf) http://en.wikipedia.org... http://web.tigerwoods.com... http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com... 0 characters remaining.