D- said:yuiyuigahama said:
how else do you expect to establish your intelligence in a subject get over it
Well said.
You want some pepper with that salt, OP?TheBrainintheJar said:iSheep said:
Exams just mean that you're a good test-taker. Actually being able to apply the knowledge that you've learned in a practical and efficient manner (or the "real world") is where it counts.
You can be a good test-taker. I know plenty of those, but when it comes to applying it to a real-world situation, some of those good test-takers just freeze up and stare on through as if they haven't seen it before. Test-taking won't help you there. Test-taking just means you can read a study guide, commit the required concepts to memory, and apply them in a controlled environment. You're not really proving your skills, you're just proving that you were listening the whole time.
In my opinion, exams like the SAT and the ACT are complete bullshit. They're not really an aptitude measuring intelligence, because I know people can score 2400s and still lack the common sense to open a jar by themselves. Of course, I'm not one to talk since I scored only 1600 on mine (I really didn't give a shit), but I find it stupid that you can pay your way to a better score. Everyone's familiar with the College Board, right? They claim themselves a non-profit organization, but the #1 study guide for the SAT is the guide that they sell, not to mention all the various tutors that a rich preppy can hire to get that 2400 and all the attempts you can have just to boost your score (and remember, if you score lower on math in one attempt, it won't affect you!), plus the fee to take the exam in the first place. How is that an assessment of knowledge and intelligence? That's just big business taking over the educational system.
I think exams can weed out the good and the bad students, and that's a good thing about them. But at the same time, I don't think they can truly measure someone's intelligence, not the way most people perceive them.
Exams are actually terrible for the intelligent students who want to learn. Instead of giving them new information and teaching them how to explore, they just give them a series of facts to regurgitate.
Every subject is more interesting once you're out of school. That's because you're actually exploring it, thinking about it instead of just 'this is correct and that's all you need to know'.
Just a question: Do you have a degree in teaching?