Question: Do Standardized Assessments Enhance the Educational Process?

Standardized testing should be abolished.

I will start by countering my opponent's arguments and then present my own reasons supporting the elimination of standardized testing.

Rebuttals:

1) "Standardized testing provides direction for teachers."
All schools follow a pre-established curriculum, which guides teachers on what and when to teach. Standardized tests are unnecessary and can negatively affect education by promoting "teaching to the test" instead of fostering genuine learning.

2) "Standardized testing informs parents and schools about student performance."
Standardized tests inaccurately gauge student capabilities due to inherent biases and the inability to account for factors like motivation. Thus, they cannot be relied upon for evaluating students' performance.

3) "Standardized tests allow for accurate comparisons across groups."
Unfortunately, the pressure to achieve high scores often leads to cheating, and the use of multiple test forms creates inconsistencies, making comparisons unreliable.

4) "Standardized testing tracks student progress over time."
Using a single day's performance to assess a student's progress throughout the year is flawed and does not provide a comprehensive evaluation.

5) "Standardized testing enhances accountability and motivates learning."
While it may motivate memorization, it discourages a broader range of learning, as students and teachers focus on test-specific content.

6) "The cost of scoring essays is higher than multiple-choice questions."
Assuming standardized tests consist only of multiple-choice questions promotes memorization over learning. Important exams like AP tests include free-response sections to better assess students' knowledge.

Constructive:

I propose replacing standardized tests with the portfolio method, which involves maintaining a file of students' assignments and work. This method offers several advantages:

1) It is cost-effective, requiring minimal investment in filing cabinets or online storage.
2) It provides a more accurate assessment of student performance over time, reducing stress and increasing accuracy.
3) It encourages a broader curriculum, as teachers focus on teaching the material chapter by chapter rather than solely preparing for standardized tests.

Given the benefits of the portfolio method, I affirm that standardized testing should be eliminated.

Sources:
[1] http://www.www2.districtadministration.com...
[2] http://www.cbsnews.com...
[3] http://www.huffingtonpost.com...

I look forward to my opponent's response and anticipate a stimulating debate.

Thank you I'msmarterthanyou98 for accepting my challenge, thank you all who are following this, I will now present my opening case. Contention 1: Grades create stress. The ides that grades engender create stress in two ways. Firstly, grades are effectively a way of linearly comparing a group of people, by comparing their work to a fixed external standard. In doing this, one creates a sense for students of having to measure up to those around them, creating stress. This is a major impact because stress decreases from performance. Few students perform well under stress and most perform poorly. [1] One can see this from a purely psychological and reasonable standpoint in that it causes extraneous thought. When one is stressed, one worries about a failed outcome while preparing for or attempting to achieve a successful one, detracting from ones ability to solve the problem at hand. If one is not measured against an external standard, thought about the outcome goes away. Not only can stress be shown to be detrimental from a psychological standpoint, it is also shown to be detrimental Neurologically. Conditions in which an individual is overstressed lead to activate the fight of flight response, pumping adrenaline into your system. Small amounts of adrenaline keep you focused but large quantities begin to shut down all but the parts of your brain necessary for survival. When constantly living under high stress, one sees everything as a threat, and has trouble focusing on things like schoolwork. Contention 2: Grades discourage students from looking at meaningful feedback, and discourage teachers from giving it. Even if a narrative (or some other form of meaningful feedback) is given, students don’t pay attention to it, and it is often written as a justification of a grade. It is essential in correcting ones mistakes to place a premium on feedback that tells a student what they can do better, and not feedback that tells them where they fit with respect to others. If this is so obvious, one might ask why students don’t just look past the grade? The answer is that grading becomes a lifestyle. Students are taught that they must work hard to get a good grade, and must get a good grade to get into the next level of education because educational specialists believe that all forms of motivation are the same. This overemphasis on and often threat on arbitrary placement and sorting, means that students are taught from a young age that grades are what they are and what they judge themselves by, making meaningful feedback seem irrelevant. Contention 3: Grades harm interest and ambition. [2] When a student receives a grade that does not live up to their standards, they are discouraged from pursuing work in that field. A student who gets a bad grade in math for example, may think, “I’m interested in math, but I’m not good at it, maybe I shouldn't take advanced math classes.” Students have two reasons to come to this conclusion due to grading. Firstly, they are dissuaded because of the possibility that further grades may be bad, lowering their GPA and making it harder to progress into a desired institution for the next stage of their education. Even if a students bad grade comes from external circumstances or if the student was merely behind because of a class that did not prepare them earlier in life, the result is the same. With the way that most grades are doled out; someone who made use of their skills from a disadvantaged position to attempt to solve a problem but failed, will receive the same mark as one who makes little use of the wealth skills they have; and fails anyway. Taking away grades forces teachers to give meaningful feedback about student work and effort. Secondly; grades emphasize 2 things: adeptness over interest and precision over creativity. A student with a controversial approach to a problem who gets some minor calculation or detail slightly wrong thinks that they had better not go into the field in which they failed, because grades teach that one must be adept. Contention 4: Grades put emphasis on external, extrinsic motivation. Kids are learning not because they are interested, but because they want to be given a good ranking in comparison to others. This type of motivation tends not to interest students in the subject but rather interest them in a grade. In fact, extrinsic motivation has been shown to directly impair intrinsic motivation, and “ A “grading orientation” and a “learning orientation” have been shown to be inversely related and, as far as I can tell, every study that has ever investigated the impact on intrinsic motivation of receiving grades (or instructions that emphasize the importance of getting good grades) has found a negative effect.” [3] Contention 5: Grading fosters individuality and detracts from interaction, as well as promoting cheating. Because of the intrinsic competition involved in grading (especially grading on a curve,) students are encouraged to compete rather than to work together. If you work with Johnny, and it turns out you understand the material better than him, then he will benefit from your knowledge, and drag your grade down. Collaboration has been shown to be an integral part of student learning, and has been shown to raise intrinsic motivation, cognitive functioning, and retention of information, as well as decreasing racism. [4] Conversely, the pressure often leads students to cheat, so as to do as well as (or better than their piers.) [5] Contention 6: External standards do not allow for teaching to outliers. With a grade based system it is difficult to teach to children that are either far above average or far below average. A student that is far above average is given an A, and rewarded for what is simple to them, where they should be being pushed and challenged. Every detail should be explained to them. Conversely, a student with a D or an F is discouraged and, instead of having the general picture explained to them comes away with a sense of disappointment and dislike. Contention 7: Grades foster rote memorization over creativity, and put arbitrary standards on creative processes. In any system grades will be somewhat arbitrary, especially in the humanities, but it is hard to grapple with that rationally as a young kid. A kid receiving a B from a class with a more difficult professor that a friend receives an A in with a different professor, assumes that they can not work at the same level as their pier. To account for this, schools tend towards rote memorization. It is easier to see if Student A is better than Student B, if both teachers give a grade on a vocabulary quiz, rather than a piece of creative writing and or an analytical essay. This has results in horrible curriculum standards, especially in STEM fields. To create a level playing field and make sure kids are learning the same things, they assign a curriculum that everyone can take standardized tests on. This allows for people's results to be quantized, even if the tests are arbitrary and meaningless. In the field of mathematics especially, most students must get to college or even grad school before they actually start doing proofs, research and creative work. This deters students from taking math, and gives the impression that math is a field only used as a tool. The same is done with many of the sciences. Contention 8: Grades promote focus on easy problems, and detract from willingness to challenge oneself. Lets say that a student were to have a homework assignment with 10 problems, and had only one hour to complete the assignment. Now assume that 5 of the problems take from 3-5 minutes, making them comparatively easy to get done, but 3 of the remaining problems take 5 to 10 minutes and the last two take 10-20. From an interest and educational standpoint, the last two and the three before that are the most important, and all five could probably be done within the hour the student has available. A student with internal motivation about the subject does those five problems, but a student motivated by the need to get a grade does the first 8, completing more problems in less time. By assigning a grade, the teacher detracts from the level of work students engage in. The same is true with the humanities; students are discouraged from writing about topics that are more complicated than necessary because there is a greater chance of failure. This is corroborated by educational psychologists mentioned in my 3rd and 6the sources. Contention 9: Students who are graded tend to forget what they learned more quickly and think in a more superficial manner. Students working for a grade view knowledge as something that must be internalized in order to achieve a high mark, instead of something that can be intriguing when discussed and grappled with. It follows that once their objective is completed, the knowledge becomes unnecessary, as it is no longer necessary to obtain a grade. It also follows that students are less likely to engage with material, thinking only about what they need to know for a test and not about what a particular passage means in the grand scheme of things, or how a text relates to the world. In a study “students told they’d be graded on how well they learned a social studies lesson had more trouble understanding the main point of the text than did students who were told that no grades would be involved. Even on a measure of rote recall, the graded group remembered fewer facts a week later.” (Grolnick and Ryan, 1987) [6] Thank you, please vote Pro [1] http://www.apa.org... [2] http://www.bbc.com... [3] http://www.alfiekohn.org... [4] http://www.ccsstl.com... [5] www.mendhamboro.org/cms/lib02/NJ01000391/Centricity/ModuleInstance/638/Anderman_et_al._1998_-_Motivation_and_cheating.pdf [6] http://www.alternet.org...

So many students have coasted throughout middle school and since teachers aren't able to fail their students, students could literally do nothing in elementary school and still pass. Having standardized tests would not only make students have to do well but also teachers. Teachers in elementary school are absolutely ridiculous. There's no pressure on them to actually teach students anything. If marks went public, students and teachers would do better.

It seems my opponent has forfeited his final speech. Regardless, I will proceed with some crystallization. In this round, we are valuing Progressive Post-Industrialism through Accountability. The debater who best achieves this has won. Remember that Progressive Post-Industrialism is "the evolution of industrialist societies into more technologically advanced and culturally progressed civilizations dedicated to humanist principles of justice and human dignity". The Negative achieves this quite simply. The high level nature of exit exams ensure that a graduating population is fully educated and enlightened. We see this quite clearly in strong European nations with accountable systems. Apart from ensuring economic survival, an exit exam leads to numerous social benefits, including increased healthcare and decreased racism and discrimination. My first contention clearly shows that the problems with todays schools are a result of rubber-stamping diplomas and low standards of accountability. People enter the workforce unable to function on the required level which undermines the economy and the individual, who cannot hold a steady job. The solution here is a high stakes, critical thinking exit exam. You can look the example of the Irish 10th grade test as the basic framework that the Negative upholds. It is only these high stakes tests that can achieve any form of accountability because students have no incentive to perform on low-stakes tests. The problems on the affirmative case all quickly dissolve in a progressive post-industrial negative world. Higher value and standards in education ensures that students are ready for life. A focus on actual education prevents teaching to the test (which is more rightly 'teaching to the curriculum; exams reflect the curriculum, the skills students need to learn). Finally, the affirmative case is all geared towards multiple choice exams. Never do I ever say that multiple choice exams are a proposition on the negative side. His entire case is a giant strawman (see: http://www.clker.com...) and he never once makes an attack that can be applied to my case. Because I am the only one left in this round with any offense at all and achieve a stronger, more empowered society, I urge a Negative vote.

Hello my name is Gina Lee and I am on the negative behalf of the resolution which clearly states that, on balance, the no child left behind act of 2001 has improved academic achievement in the United States. 1)the NCLB fails to focus on students. According to the website entitled www.fixingNCLB.org, it is is stated that NCLB stifles student creativity, also known as America's ingenuity. Current research indicates that students have different learning styles. Moreover, the business community has been extremely vocal in calling on students to develop the capacity to "learn how to learn" – not just to remember data presented shortly before a test. What this means is that the NCLB is basically a trick and does not do any U.S. citizens and educators any good. 2)the NCLB fails to motivate students. According to www.NCLB.org, it is stated that NCLB reduces the quality of a student's day in school on multiple levels. Instead of engaging in a curriculum that relates to students' lives in lasting and meaningful ways, students are forced to engage activities dictated by someone else's agenda. The joy of life long- learning is replaced by a system void of self-motivation, exploration, and creativity. What this means is that the NCLB basically cheats students, parents, and teachers with this sort of cheat. 3)the NCLB can increase world poverty and drug-related usage. According to website www.accessmylibrary.com, it is stated that Increased crime rates and poverty in cities during the 1960s weakened inner-city schools, which are primarily composed of minority students. This weakness rooted in the 1960s has led urban students to lag behind their suburban counterparts in academic achievement. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as the "achievement gap." In response, Congress passed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), a law aimed at decreasing the disparities in academic achievement between poor and wealthy schools. The primary feature of the ESEA was Title I, which provided (and still provides) the largest source of federal; funding for states' elementary education in history. The original incarnation of the ESEA focused on specific remedial programs, and the 1994 reauthorization focused on implementing uniform standards to which all students would be held. This legislation constituted a victory for the "standards movement," and laid the groundwork for the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.What this means is that the NCLB is no good and is perhaps dangerous for the education for the United States. Thank you.

The case for measuring the quality of students performance. (a Grade) What is a grade? According to the Cambridge dictionary grade noun [C] (MEASURE/MARK) /ɡre=8;d/ A measure of the quality of a student’s performance , usually represented by the letters A (the best ) through F (the worst ) So why are measurements of students performance on balance beneficial to and critical to the education of students? Which is the resolution we are presented with. “Grades are detrimental to education” I will outline below why grades are quite simply essential for education , but first take a moment and contemplate. Dear voters what will you be doing once you finish reading both sides of this debate? You will be measuring the quality of our performance relative to each other and in accordment with a grading rubric you will assign us a GRADE. First notice that we are debating if ANY TYPE of grading system is or is not on the whole detrimental to education and if education would be better WITHOUT grades. . 1. Grades give immediate gratification for hard work & and something tangible to work towards. As im sure everyone understands especially those who have kids , children often do not know what is best for them. Grades promote learning and critical thinking even if indirectly which after is the goal of education . As parents have done for ages and continue to do so , parents often set goals for there children for example if bobby gets a 90 on his next exam he will get a PS3 system for Christmas. This thus MOTIVATES bobby tremendously to learn the material and get a high quantifiable grade. Thus qualitative assessments of students performance are absolutely necessary for students that do require something tangible to work towards. Even if this motivates students to learn indirectly they are learning. Furthermore many students myself included have felt a great overwhelming sense of accomplishment when rewarded with a high letter grade on a exam. This further motivates students to keep learning and doing hard work because they see a real tangible pay back to learning. So in conclusion it is clear that Letter grades make it easy and practical for a student to set and chase goals. By examining a teacher’s feedback, following directions and working hard, students are not only able to track their progress by identifying gained knowledge, but are able to see their grades getting higher. Therfore we can also conclude that grades are perhaps the ULTIMATE motivator in education. Furthermore The formation of a goal and the desire to achieve it doesn’t only help students grow within their educational institution, but is a lesson that they can use long after graduation. 2.Efficiency Not only are grades beneficial for students but also teachers greatly benefit from qualitatively quantifying the performance of students. For example letter grading systems provides teachers with concrete and effeicent ways of evaluating mastery of course content by students. Furthermore if a high school student applies to college, one major factor that the admissions office consider are grades. When college students apply to graduate school, the admissions office again considers grades. When students apply for a job, the employer considers the students grades. Without grades, post-secondary schools and employers will have no way to know whether the student learned the material well or badly. Employers would obviously prefer to hire computer programmers and lawyers who achieved top grades rather than those that received the worst grades because top grades are a proxy for learning. The students with the best grades learned the material better than the other students and are therefore likely to make better workers. UC Santa Cruz, for example, used to have a holistic rating system, where each student merely received an "essay" as feedback from each professor. The campus switched to grades so that graduate schools would have some legitimate way to measure students' performance (against each other and against other students from other schools). 3.Grades provide feedback to the student Students might *feel* that they understand the material or that they are learning. However, that subjective feeling must be tested by some objective, external measurement. A student that *thinks* has learned the material may have a rude awakening when he takes a quiz and scores 20/100. Without this external feedback, the student would never know whether he truly understood. Psychological studies have found that all people have a natural bias to believe that they are above average. For students, this translates to most students believing that they have above average knowledge of the subject matter. Without external feedback to dissipate this bias, students that don't really understand the material would not realize that they need to study more or harder. 4. The educational system would crumble without grades. My opponent would have to offer a rival educational system without grades. It is incoherent to talk about whether a student has learned a certain subject matter, without somehow grading their knowledge. Without some tangible form of knowledge, any attempt of a student or teacher to figure out how much a student had learned would be nothing more than a subjective guess based on cognitive bias (such as a teacher saying that students who he or she liked "knew" the material better). Without grades, students that did not talk much during class would likely be marginalized because the teacher would assume they had not learned anything. Thus, I negate the resolution and argue that grades are on the whole necessary and beneficial and the educational system is better with them.

Challenge accepted. Pray, what is 'more education'? Also, with all due respect, if private schools are 'better'....than why is your grammar as well as your spelling not up to par? Surely, if you are arguing for your point, the very fact that your opening statement is a poor effort proves otherwise?

By American education system, I am talking about K-12 grade and college. The education has a bit of a snowball effect. In elementary school, students must take standardized test so that the government can evaluate the schools and provide funding based off of that. Teachers then teach students how to take tests and teach to prepare for the test, and less to teach for the sake of learning. Same goes for high school; however, now students are placed under even more stress to succeed on these tests in order to prepare and get into college. By the time, students arrive at college, they have already arrived with mental health issues that arose throughout their elementary through high school years. An article in Newsweek by Katie Baker, explores how colleges are failing to support students who do struggle with mental illnesses. This article points out the fact that colleges have great disability services and accommodations for learning and physical disabilities but mental health disabilities are a whole different story. (http://www.newsweek.com...) Mental illnesses is such a wide spectrum, however, for brevity, I'd like to narrow it down to depression and anxiety. These two are the most common mental illnesses that seem to develop due to the amount of stress placed on students. Mental health to me is simply the well being of both the psychological and emotions of a person. When you say that there are homework clubs and other opportunities for homework help, how does that address and provide a solution for the amount of homework given? Groups such as the National Education Association and the National Parent Teacher Association suggest ten minutes of homework per day for each grade level is generally a good rule of thumb for elementary and middle school students. However, many students report to having 80 minutes of homework in elementary school and upward to 100 minutes of homework in middle school, exceeding the recommended amount. (http://www.k12.com...) I believe the lack of resources and proper education about mental health is further perpetrating the problem that there is a rise in mental health issues. To be more exact , according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, suicide is the second leading cause of death of 15-24 year olds and the third leading cause of death of people aged 10-24 in the United States. There are gym and health classes that help keep kids bodies in shape and healthy, but not classes to teach kids how to manage stress and encourage healthy and safe coping mechanisms. Without these skills and techniques kids are left feeling hopeless, helpless and stressed out. These are some of main symptoms of depression and anxiety. Would you please share your source from where you talk about adding multiple homework club and what considered other opportunities? What are your definitions of the American education system, mental health and mental illnesses? That way we can be on the same page?

Definition of education from Merriam Websters dictionary: The action or process of educating or of being educated. I will just assume from common sense that we are talking about the Sierra Leone education system. Since the last Civil war ended in 2001 education among the nation has increase considerably, and school enrollment has doubled. So double the people are being educated. Point proven

My main three points which I will expand on are as follows: 1) Written exams are have an adverse effect on the teaching of a subject, and are inefficient at testing one's ability in a given subject. 2) Exams test skills which are no longer as important as they used to be- such as memorising information. 3) Exam weeks often have a severe effect on a student's physical and mental health. As a supporter to this motion, I have a duty to propose an alternative system to written examinations which serves the same role, and will do this either in round 3 or at the end of this round if I have space. Please note that despite my efforts to propose a specific alternative system, I need not convince the voters that said system is better in order for the motion to be carried; if the voters can themselves think of a more workable system than the one I propose, but I have still convinced them that it would be better were written examinations banned, then the motion would, of course, still be carried. Now, to develop my main points further: There's no denying that students are currently taught, for instance, how to pass a French exam, rather than simply being taught French itself, because of the focus on the final exam at the end. This has a detrimental effect on the students' learning in this area, as the ability to speak French can be extremely useful in day to day life, but the ability to pass a French exam is not. Languages may be the most obvious example of this- with thousands of students gaining a qualification in French every year despite having no idea how to speak French in everyday life- but it happens in all subject areas: chemistry students are spending time learning that the colour of the flame produced by burning potassium is "lilac" rather than "purple" because that's what the exams want them to say, rather than actually learning more chemistry. When written exams were first implemented centuries ago, internet access was not something that anyone had. Therefore, one of the most important skills to test was memory- the ability to recall information on demand, rather than having to search through libraries for hours, was extremely useful in one's professional life. Nowadays, however, almost anyone who's sitting a written exam has internet access 24/7. Therefore, the ability to recall that Margaret Thatcher was born on October 13th 1925, is no longer useful because it takes seconds to find that information online as I just did. Lastly, I come to the point of the health effects exams have on students- the pressure of having sometimes as many as 15 exams over a few weeks all of which have a considerable impact on one's future employment prospects is extremely stressful, and is therefore associated with an increased risk of mental health conditions. The sheer amount of time spent studying indoors in darkened rooms, sometimes at the cost of a good night's sleep, has severe effects for both a student's physical and mental health. I have enough space, so I will begin proposing a better system: A better way to assess a student's ability in a subject would be to have their teachers write a detailed statement, kind of like a school report, about a student's skills in that area. Something like: "Daisy is extremely good at the theoretical side of physics and shows a natural talent for the various mathematical processes we use throughout the course. She seems disinterested in experimental physics, and hence under-performs in that area. Quantum physics is an area she seems to have an intuitive understanding of..." ...and so on in that manner. This is clearly more useful to any potential employers than: "Physics BSc. 2-1" and removes all of the problems associated with exams as outlined above. It is for that reason that I urge the voters to side with the motion that we should ban written exams, and hence replace them with this or a similar system.

My opponent states that "art projects in English classrooms at the High School level do not help students learn how to write well". I disagree. While it is obviously true that, generally speaking, art projects are unlikely to focus on syntax and grammar, there is far more to expressing oneself than simply those basics. In a way, DDO's 7 point voting system is a perfect example of this; only one point in seven is devoted to dotting the Is and crossing the Ts. Of far more importance to the vote is the ability to be persuasive and, when appropriate, quote one's sources. This need to be persuasive is present in most college essays, as well. According to the Harvard College Writing Center, the core point of an academic essay is "fashioning a coherent set of ideas into an argument" [1]. If one were to compare use of the English language to playing the piano, the syntax and grammar could be seen as analogous to the actual notes on the page of sheet music. The act of fashioning that coherent set of ideas, however, is more analogous to the rhythm and pitch of the pianist pouring expression into the notes on the page. In plain terms, it's an artistic talent. One of the ways in which a smart teacher can help students express that artistry is through the use of art projects that contain similar values. A diorama of a scene from The Crucible, for example, might lead a student to put more focus and attention on the imagery used by the play. Ideally, this would show the student the value of that imagery, and encourage its replication if they were asked to describe an equivalent modern environment. My opponent makes other arguments, but they lack a certain relevance (IE their personal high school experience does nothing but show their own inherent bias to the concept of art as a learning tool, and their observation that college professors must be redundant in their initial lessons is certainly true, but they have failed to make a connection between a few art projects and that typical student failing. Summer vacation is arguably a far more culpable factor). In conclusion, art projects do help students, because they enforce good creative writing techniques. As such, they serve to strength the writers' skills. [1] . http://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu...;


Question: Do Standardized Assessments Enhance the Quality of Education?

Standardized tests should not be the sole determinant of educational success in U.S. Public High Schools. Consider the following points:

1. Equal access to educational standards is not the same as equality in educational outcomes. The debate should focus on the fairness of standardized tests in evaluating student performance and teacher effectiveness.
2. Utilitarianism, as a criterion for educational policy, is unjust and discriminatory. My opponent has not adequately addressed this concern, which remains a critical issue in the debate over standardized testing.
3. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has failed as a legislative measure, particularly when linked to the discriminatory practice of utilitarianism. This failure highlights the shortcomings of standardized tests in improving education.

Criterion Debate:
1. Reiterate all previous responses to the criterion debate. My opponent has not adequately addressed these points, leaving no clear criterion for evaluating the effectiveness of standardized tests.

Contention 1, Sub A Point 1:
- The unconstitutionality of standardized tests arises from denying a large number of students equal access to education, as evidenced by the entire case.
- Funding for the test is not the issue; rather, it is the funding of individual districts to provide equal access to materials and quality staffing that matters.

Point 2:
- Clarification: My opponent lacks the necessary warrants to support the claim that the intentions of standardized tests align with their actual outcomes. The application of these tests can still lead to failure, as demonstrated by their impact on underserved students.
- While standardized tests may match state standards, they do not ensure equal access to education, as those state standards are not being taught equally across the board. This systemic discrimination prevents underserved students from passing the exit exam.

Point 3:
- I never claimed that standardized tests do not prepare students for the workforce. However, the evaluation of their effectiveness cannot proceed without addressing the issue of unequal access to education. My opponent has not provided a warrant to prove that standardized tests achieve the positive outcomes he asserts.

Contention 1, Sub B Tagline Response:
- When I demonstrate that standardized tests are invalid due to inherent, systemic flaws, the "weaknesses" my opponent refers to cannot be trusted, either.

Point 1:
- The "brighter world" and "better workforce" my opponent envisions are inaccessible, as I have warranted this claim multiple times.

Point 2:
- The warrant for non-graduates being individually unsuccessful and a social liability is directly in my case. See the second and third cards for evidence.

Point

PRO said: Homeschooling dosen work if you donï¿½t have brilliant parents. and because your prents dodnt get certificates of proper teaching, it's not really effective. Rebuttal: No one must be brilliant in order to teach. The only real requirements are knowing the subject matter, which they should do so if they have completed High School, and a willingness to research good curriculum. There are thousands of places to order curriculum from for homeschooling parents. The important thing is to research which one you actually order. There is no reason any person with a grasp of what is being taught, with good curriculum to back them up, in a class size of only 1-4 should have any trouble teaching. PRO said: School can help you socialize with people. Rebuttal: Homeschooled students have formed clubs and social groups. Some have gotten together to form sports teams, utilize field trips, etc. Socialization still occurs. Pro said: how will you do your PAT? Rebuttal: I'm assuming here this is a standardized test similar to our Achievement tests? or would this be more similar to a SAT test? Either way, the students are still required to take the Achievement tests there are several agencies which provide the materials for parents to use. As for the SATs, pretty much those are paid for and taken by the student at a testing site, which may or may not be the child's local school anyway. I took my SATs in a library. My sister took her's in a school. Homeschooled students do better on the SATs than their public school counterparts. http://www.ontariohomeschool.org... Many of the answers to what you are questioning can be found here http://www.holtgws.com...? Now to extend my arguments: The primary argument my opponent has yet to refute is that institutionalized learning has not been proven to be a method that is most successful in any study. In fact solid research suggests that hands on, experimentation, and exploration is the most effective in encouraging students to retain what they learn. http://newali.apple.com... http://www.ncrel.org...

(Extended Arguments) and just for the viewers information when I said America learning discipline I meant how America is behind in education already.

It seams as though you are the one who has failed to stay on the topic yet again. The burden of proof does not lie in my ability to prove that Sierra Leone's education has gotten worse rather it lies within your ability to create a counter argument to my initial claim. If you were unable to decipher the claim of my initial argument then perhaps you serve as evidence in its favor.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs asserts that at the apex of humans innate curiosity (fulfillment) is self-actualization, which posits: The achievement of one's full potential through creativity, independence, spontaneity, and a grasp of the real world. My point will be to prove that passing this test will give those students Pro's proposed value - self-esteem and respect - and that passing without deserving to do so (if they can't prove to know basic exit level knowledge by passing a standardized exam) would actually decrease their sense of accomplishment. Further, I fail to see how NOT taking the test would add to a student's sense of creativity, independence or grasp of the real world, as Pro's definition of self-actualization implies. Pro is responsible for explaining how/why this is the case. For now, onto the debate! Rebuttal: 1. Pro submits that failing of the test will lead a student to doubt themselves, and thus not achieve the highest level of the pyramid. I negate. Students can and do fail these types of tests for a plethora of reasons, including lack of sleep, nerves, scan tron mistakes, distractions, sickness, etc. In other words, just because on fails this test does not mean that they will necessarily doubt themselves or their abilities. Further, just because one may have failed doesn't mean that they don't think they can pass; perhaps merely that they didn't perform well as they could have or could have. 2. Pro's second point regarding the long term effects of self-actualization is incomprehensible. I'd like for Pro to expand on this or clarify what he meant. 3. Pro says, "This links back to self-esteem in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, if a person's unjust to that person than the self-esteem goes down." Just because one fails a test does not mean that any type of injustice has occurred. Pro would have to prove or explain how this is the case. 4. Next Pro claims that the test is unfair because it applies to people who are more inclined to be left brained than right brained. I fail to see how this is relevant. First of all, Pro has no idea what kind of standardized test would be implemented; perhaps one that favors right-brained people (or both people equally) would be implemented. Second, this same discrepancy is applied to all aspects of school and life in general. Some people are better at certain things than others, and that's unfortunate. However, people have to work around their strengths and abilities and find ways to succeed. 5. Pro then mentions "motivation," but says nothing comprehensible about it. What about motivation, Pro? 6. Next Pro says that students cannot realistically study for the test, and therefore it's unfair. I negate. First of all, there are always test taking abilities that one can learn (such as time management, process of elimination, etc.). Second, education isn't supposed to be about memorization and regurgitation. Instead, it's supposed to be a building process of knowledge. If one cannot remember the basic skills that they are supposed to learn in 6th grade (and these tests tend to only cover the basics), then perhaps they don't deserve to graduate. Arguments: Perhaps the biggest reason that the education system in the United States is failing is because students are passing when they should not be. Teachers and school administrators are more concerned about the school's reputation, their own careers and available funding rather then ensuring that students are receiving a proper and adequate education. As a result, students are graduating HS who are literally at a 2nd grade reading and comprehension level [1]. This is doing the students a huge injustice, and failing to meet the criteria for education in this country as established by the U.S. government. Further, when students graduate and go on to college, but fail to retain adequate basic knowledge necessary to succeed at a university, they are forced to take remedial classes which is a giant waste of their time and money. Additionally, it's a huge waste of tax payer money for those students who receive public aid from the government for their reputation. Moreover, these type of embarrassing scores on said tests make the U.S. look bad in comparison to other education systems in the world. By implementing these tests, students will be encouraged to pay more attention in school over the years and value actually grasping knowledge, instead of just getting by from passing test to test. If students and teachers know that they're going to be held accountable at the end instead of just receiving another free pass, they will work to perform better, thus giving them a more gratifying sense of appreciation and success. This will surely be the best motivator and reward, thus being the best option for everyone: Accountability, Knowledge and being as Fair as possible. Sources: [1] http://teachers.net...

Our kids need a better education which means school. Public schools test scores are at an all time low. Private schools are doing okay but compared to other countries we are not doing so well. I have 3 main points to back up my opinion. (1) Low test scores (2) Future Economy (3) Keeping up with the world 1. Our public schools compared to other public schools in developed countries are not doing very well. In reading, math, and science we are 14th worldwide. Other countries that are teaching their kids with enthusiasm are passing us economically. If we have longer school time, then we can catch up to South Korea, Finland, China, and Canada. We can be the ones on top like we used to. More time at school would give the students more time to learn different topics, become well rounded, and have individual time with a teacher. 2. If our kids are not educated, America will fail economically. We will not be smart enough to trade with other countries and continue to develop technology and grow. Our kids are the future of America and if they are not educated properly America will not be the best in technology and new advancements. Like I said before longer school time will result in a climb in Americas education rankings worldwide. 3. If we cannot keep up with the world in education America will not be as wealthy as we are. We won't be able to invent new technologies and advancements in our military. These countries that are ahead of us will bypass us in technology and economy. Our economy will not grow without proper education.

How can one relate what one has learned in the classroom if one is not permitted to explore and question what is being taught? You previously said, "The goal of education is"the development of life." People are alive, are they not? To effectively develop one"s life, would one not have to first focus on the development of one"s self? It is vital to put emphasis on the individual before the attention can be placed on society as a whole. As Freire states, "the solution is not to "integrate' them into the structure of oppression, but to transform that structure so that they can become "beings for themselves."" The society you are referring to is full of clones; no one is able to break free from the standard knowledge that is being fed to them in the classroom. How would you define the quality of a society where no one is able to think for themselves and express themselves as an individual? Would this not be considered a form of dictatorship? I do not believe oppressive education to be a method of teaching; it is a form of brainwashing. Nothing, not a person or society, can develop from this practice.

Almost 2,000 years ago, Roman author Marcus Quintilianus wrote that "too slow a hand impedes the mind." RESOLVED: Schools should not teach cursive writing. Before I present my main arguments I'd like to provide a proper framework for today's debate… RESOLUTIONAL ANALYSIS & DEFINITIONS: First, some analysis of the topic and definitions…. ● We view this topic as a potential government policy, in which case… ● "SCHOOLS" should refer to all kindergarten through 12th grade U.S. public schools. ● "NOT TEACH CURSIVE" means to remove all cursive writing instruction from all school curriculums, effective immediately. STANDARD: Quality of Education Second, and more importantly, we need a standard for this round, a weighing mechanism to determine the winner of today's debate. ● Because we are discussing what's best for students, EDUCATION should obviously be the most important issue in this round. ● Specifically, the QUALITY OF EDUCATION, meaning: test scores, comprehension, preparedness for college, etc. We believe the team that does the best job of proving, through evidence and reasoning, that they most positively impact education in this country, should win today's debate. With all of that in mind, our team will win by showing everyone here that, contrary to popular belief, cursive is not a lost or dying art. It is actually a vital and invaluable tool that we must continue to teach students. We have several arguments… CONTENTION 1: Good Cursive Handwriting is Important to the Success of Grade School Students (Statistical) Our first main argument is very simple: good handwriting is important to the success of grade school students. This is because handwriting is used for the majority of school activities and because good hand writing translates into better grades. We can prove this statistically… ● Steven Graham, Vanderbilt University Education Professor and literary expert, stated in an interview in September that… "90% of activities kids do in school involve handwriting, and better handwriting coincides with better grades." (National Public Radio, September 2011) ● In fact, a comprehensive statistical study was conducted several years ago that proved this. 45 short essays written by 9th grade students, and then rewritten by 5 experts trained in the Palmer Handwriting Method, one of the most well-known cursive handwriting styles. All 90 essays were then graded by 12 teachers trained in the P.B. Diedrich holistic scoring technique. Statistical analyses showed that the professionally rewritten cursive essays received much higher scores. (The Effect of Handwriting on Teachers' Grading of High School Essays, study published in the Journal of the Association for the Study of Perception, Fall 1982) ● IMPACT: The positive educational impact of this is clear: 90% of what kids do in school involves handwriting, even in today's technologically advanced world. If kids have good handwriting, specifically good cursive writing, they will receive better grades and do better in school. CONTENTION 2: Cursive Writing Scientifically Proves to Improve Reading/Writing Our second main argument is that cursive writing has been scientifically proven to improve reading and writing skills. A recent article in Helium, an online educational community, interviewed three highly respected professionals on this subject. ● Iris Hatfield, creator of the New American Cursive program, stated that "Cursive improves neural connections in the brain." She stresses that physiological movement of writing cursive letters "help build pathways in the brain while improving mental effectiveness" and that this increased effectiveness may continue throughout a child's academic career. ● R. Shadmehr & H. Holcomb of Johns Hopkins University (no relation to our middle school) published a study in Science Magazine showing that their subject's brains actually changed in reaction to physical instruction such as cursive handwriting lessons. The researchers provided PET scans as evidence of these changes in brain structure. Further, they also demonstrated that these changes resulted in an "almost immediate improvement in fluency," which led to later development of neural pathways. As a result of practicing motor skills, the researchers found, knowledge becomes more stable. ● Pulitzer Prize nominated neurologist Frank Wilson, author of "The Hand: How Its Use Shapes The Brain, Language, And Human Culture," states that "You can't really separate what's in the mind from what's in the body. Knowledge really is the whole behavior of the whole organism," and that teachers should not "educate the mind by itself." He argues that lessons do not involve the hands and the body in full movement, much of the knowledge will be poorly processed and inadequately learned. ● IMPACT: All of this scientifically proves that cursive writing is very important to learning how to read and write. CONTENTION 3: Cursive Writing Aids Higher Learning & Employment Our third main argument is that cursive writing aids higher learning and employment. ● The vast majority of students who wish to pursue higher learning will more than likely have to take the SATs and Advanced Placement (AP) exams in high school in order to apply to the best universities in the country, as well as receive college credit for advanced courses. ● Since 2006, the SATs have included a timed written essay section worth 800 out of the total 2,400 points possible on the exam. ● According to College Board, the administrators of the SATs: "Essay readers must be able to decipher a student's handwriting to provide an evaluation. A paper that is illegible cannot be scored." (New SAT for the Press: Frequently Asked Questions, College Board, 2010) ● According to data collected directly from College Board in 2007, 15% of students wrote their SAT essays in cursive did better than those that used other types of handwriting. ● Karen Klein, a trained scorer for the SATs, wrote in her book, "How I Gamed the SATs," that students should "write at least a page and a quarter. Nobody who got one of the top scores wrote one page or less." This gives students who write quickly with cursive a clear advantage. ● Like the SATs, College Board's Advanced Placement exams also have written free response sections, including the math and science tests such as statistics and physics. Also like the SATs, students have a limited time to complete these sections. ● Furthermore, two of the historically most difficult employment exams, the LSAT and MCAT for aspiring lawyers and doctors, also have a timed written section where being able to write quickly and in cursive gives test takes a huge advantage. ● IMPACT: The impact of all of this is clear. Being able to write quickly and neatly on timed examinations is important, as it is almost a necessary skill when trying to gain access to good colleges and high paying jobs. CONTENTION X: Cursive Writing Provides Numerous Specific Benefits to Students Our X main argument is that cursive writing provides numerous specific benefits to students. ● Author and educator Samuel Blumenfeld lists several benefits cursive writing provides students in his book: "How Should We Teach Our Children to Write? Cursive First, Print Later!" ● Cursive penmanship is easier than print: only three movements vs. perfect circles and straight lines in print. ● Prevents reversals and confusion of letters: The letters "b and d", "f and t", "g, q and p" are confusing for young children. In cursive, writing the letter "b and d" require a huge difference in directionality. ● Enhances spelling ability: cursive writing movements create muscle memory. ● Potential for errors are diminished: cursive handwriting reduces errors because of the continuous flow of writing. In print, the child picks up the pencil from the paper to start a new letter in a word, thus the potential for mistakes is higher. ● Improved reading skills: the goal in reading is to read words instead of letters at a time. Cursive writing promotes reading words, instead of a distinct letter. After words, reading will move to sentences. Thus, remedial support for comprehension and reading of words are occurring less. The child reads what he or she writes as "whole words" rather than as individual letters. ● Used as a tool to put thoughts on paper quickly and easily: children write faster and can notes better from lectures. ● IMPACT: All of these are advantages students will have when it comes to performing any sort of reading/writing.

Before I begin talking about my views on this issue, I would like to say that this topic you brought up is an issue debated throughout decades until today. I am lucky enough to take this humble opportunity to show my understanding and opinions regarding this topic, as well as to give viewers and the general audience more in-depth insights. According to the Oxford dictionary, there are 5 main definitions of Education : The process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university. The theory and practice of teaching. A body of knowledge acquired while being educated. Information about or training on a particular subject. An enlightening experience. (Reference: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com...)In general and in context of this topic, the education we are talking about in school (assuming you are talking about any type of school in general) is about how teachers impart their knowledge through the school platform to the students so as to enlighten them. This can be achieved through an array of approaches and systems, such as having group discussions, teamwork, projects, experiments. However, in your opinion, schools should teach according to the races, genders and IQs of students by separating them into groups. I would like to take this opportunity to explain why your explanation might differ from mine. Firstly, perhaps you didn't explain why the intellectual and physical difference between races is an issue in education. I read an article recently entitled "Students of all races and ethnicities benefit from ethnically diverse middle schools" issued on 20th June this year. Jaana Juvonen, a professor of psychology at the UCLA, conducted a research. It gives information about ethnic diversity in schools and surprisingly, it shows a wide range of personal and social benefits for students of all races and ethnicities from attending ethnically diverse schools, such as students feeling less vulnerable, reported better attitudes across ethnic groups and believed teachers treated all students more fairly and equally in more diverse schools. Also, when multiple ethnic groups are of relatively equal size, there may be more of a balance of power, with one or more large ethnic groups less likely to exert their influence over one or more small ethnic groups. This shows a more harmonious and colourful environment for studying. (Reference: https://phys.org...)Secondly, in regards to your opinion on the setbacks of gender diversity in schools such as the "romantic drama" between male and female students. I would argue that although what you said about romance in school is something considered as a problem in some way that is happening currently, and although dating in adolescence is still common, the "problem" is actually fading gradually every year. According to statistics provided by the childtrends.com, students in the eighth, tenth, and twelfth grades in 2013 were less likely to date than they were in 1991. The change in the behaviour of twelfth-graders was more surprising, where the proportion of youth who did not date was more than doubled, from 14% in 1991 to 38% in 2013. Meanwhile, the proportion of tenth-graders who never date rose from 28% to 44%, and the proportion of eighth-graders increased from 48% to 60%. Overall, we are seeing a downturn in the number of people in schools dating. If your concern is about the disadvantages brought about by students dating from a rather young age such as distractions while studying, perhaps that will be uncommon in the foreseeable future. Besides, having gender balance in schools help students prepare for their future, social and people skills, as they will work in companies where gender diversity is common in the workplace. One of the many uses of schools is to simulate such a situation. (Reference : https://www.childtrends.org...)Lastly, separating students by IQ might undermine the quality of education in classrooms as a whole. Firstly I would like to say that it is rather difficult to quantify IQ. Sure you can give students tests and check their scores, but there is a phenomenon where some student may be naturally intelligent, but they do not perform well in tests, and vice versa. However, I will still explain my point. Allow me to first talk about what will happen if schools were to separate students according to their IQs. Obviously, students of higher scores will be assigned to one class and those that have rather low scores will be assigned to low-level groups. You may argue that teachers can teach students better this way, as teachers can teach specifically and teaching materials can be tailor-made according to students' abilities. However, a problem emerges, where the smarter students will get even smarter, but the weaker students getting weaker. You may ask why is that? As Chinese sayings have stood the test of time, allow me to explain what I mean by using a simple Chinese saying. It goes, "People live on mountain when they are near the mountain; and live on water when near water.". The message conveyed is that since humans have to take resources from nature for survival, thus different environments influence people's way of life. In this context, as the smarter students have their successful way of studying and also they are placed in a more academic environment, by putting them together, it is easier for them to achieve more in such a setting. On the other hand, unfortunately, since weaker students might not have a consistent way or system of studying, by putting them together in the same group, the environment might not be as academic as that of the smarter students, hence they might fail to achieve more together. Instead, students with different abilities should come together as a group in the same environment. You might ask what is the good of it? Taking Hong Kong, where I currently live in, as an example. in Hong Kong's Diploma of Education (HKDSE) system, the lowest grade a student can ever get is level U, the highest is level 5** (which is equivalent to 7). When the reporters interviewed the students who got 5** in the public exam, one of the students actually thought that they learnt from weaker students. Before the examination, when the students were still studying in school, the weaker students always ask 5** students questions. Not only can weaker students imitate those smarter students and learn from them, but also allowing the 5** students to benefit from teaching weaker students as it reminds them of specific concepts taught in class. This shows that having the students with different IQs and abilities sharing the same environment can be such an ideal situation! (Reference: https://books.google.com.hk...)To be honest, I have thought of an education system where schools are segregating students into different groups, as it is easier for teachers to teach according to the needs of each student. However, it is evident that the advantages of keeping different students of different races, genders and abilities together simply outweighs its disadvantages. Thank you for taking time to read my opinions. Please correct me if I made any mistakes or misunderstanding.

The Common Core system is a set of academic standards in mathematics and the English language arts (S1). Common Core gives public schooling the initiative to properly educate students, and prepare students for college. A lecturer at Boston University says that “One of the broad goals is that the increased rigor of the Common Core will help everyone become college and/or career ready,” (S2).My opponent discredits the Common Core standards by saying that "it values tests over learning," and concludes his argument with a snarky "end of story." Firstly, yes, the Common Core does provide standardized testing. However, the Common Core uses these tests to measure the skills of different public schools, and motivates students to improve in contextual learning and critical thinking (S3). Also, it prepares students for other standardized tests such as the PSAT and SAT.Personally, I have found that, over the years, the Common Core and Common Core Standardized Testing has helped me tremendously. It has pushed me to study more vocabulary, improve on document analysis and critical thinking, and prepare better for the PSAT and SAT.Sources:S1) http://www.corestandards.org...S2) http://neatoday.org...S3) http://time.com...

In my opinion, the American education system is negatively impacting the mental health of students within the past decade. I make this claim based on 3 primary premises, the amount of homework given, the lack of support/education pertaining to mental illnesses and, the pressures of standardized tests. These main components of the American education system is causing too much stress on the students and without the proper resources and tools to help the students cope, it is causing a rise in mental health issues.