Standardized Tests Equal Standardized Students

             For centuries, standardized tests have been used in education systems to determine the examinee’s capability. Standardized tests are tests that are designed in a way so that every element of the test, such as the questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations, is consistent. Tests such as multiple-choice ones or time-limited ones fall in this category. Most schools and institutions use this type of test to determine pupils’ capability and performance. Standardized tests have long been a controversial topic which almost everyone has an opinion about. The title of this essay, for instance, was a statement by Amanda Parsons, a sophomore from Boulder, Colorado during a protest against standardized tests. Many consider that standardized testing is an objective way to grade pupils, as all the examinees are given the exact same treatment, thus abolishing any kind of bias or advantages one pupil may have over others. However, standardized testing is an unreliable way to measure pupils’ knowledge and performance and it should be revoked.

            During high school, all students in my year were required to take a standardized biology essay. I had studied hard and was confident that I’m going to pass the test. However, on the morning of the test, I had an argument with my parents, disabling me to focus on the test. As a result, I failed the test. My experience shows that standardized tests overlook the anxiety or other emotions the students may have on the testing day. As they evaluate a student’s individual performance on one particular day, they do not take external factors and the student’s process and growth into account. There are students who cannot perform well under pressure. Many of these students understand the content and are actually smart, but due to their incapability to perform under stress, it does not show on their test scores. These tests also do not evaluate the growth of the students over the year. A student could have worked hard and improved tremendously over the year, but still failed the test given.

            Another reason why standardized testing should be revoked is because it creates a grade conscious mindset on both the teacher and student, leading the teacher to “teach to the tests” and the student to “study to the tests”. This means that the teacher only teaches the materials that will be tested and the student studies only to get good grades instead of studying to gain knowledge. This practice can harm a student’s overall learning potential. This mindset can also lead to unhealthy competition. For example, during my high school years, there are a group of students that stole the question sheet for the next day’s examination and gave out the answers to their friends. Since students strive to get a good score, uncaring of the methods used, they resort to cheating. Schools and teachers are also affected by this phenomenon, as evidenced by numerous cases during the National Exam in Indonesia. Teachers giving out answers to the students via text messages, principals stealing the exam papers, and plenty of other cases show how this mindset is harming the education system. Also, there are cases when students receive low scores, they feel demotivated and discouraged to try harder, as standardized testing compares one student’s performance to others and rank them.

            Standardized tests can place a huge amount of stress on students and teachers alike. This may affect the health of the students and teachers. Test Anxiety is a psychological condition wherein individuals experience extreme distress that can cause mind block in learning and hurt test performance. This condition is very commonly found amongst students who take standardized tests. There are also several cases wherein examinees threw up or passed out before, during, or after the exam due to stress. More dangerously, this stress can produce feelings of negativity towards learning and education.

            On the other hand, standardized testing has its own advantages. For one, standardized testing is convenient, as it allows students to be compared locally, regionally, or even nationally. It also is objective in nature and allows the grading of the answers to be done easier. Standardized testing can also measure specific knowledge and thinking skills. However, this convenience is incomparable to the disadvantages of standardized testing. Many students and parents alike have voiced their opinions against standardized tests. Many great and successful figures have spoken against standardized testing. For instance, Michelle Obama, the First Lady of the United States, said, “If my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn't be here. I guarantee you that.”

            In conclusion, although standardized testing is used in most schools and institutions nowadays, it is an inaccurate way to determine students’ capabilities. The education system needs a new system to determine students’ capabilities, one that takes the growth and development of the students into account. Students are different individuals with different interests and characters which should be put in mind during their examinations. As Albert Einstein once said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” 

True Happiness

All men seek happiness. From the rich to the poor, the old to the young, everybody seeks something above all else: happiness. Yet, so few of them succeeded to achieve happiness. This led us to the question “What is happiness?” The answer to this question may vary from one person to another, as it depends on the person’s views, religion, and character. Some people define happiness as being healthy, successful in their careers, or wealthy. Others may perceive happiness as simply to love someone and to be loved in return. These differences of views lead people to use different approaches to achieve happiness. However, for so many people, no matter how hard they try, they still feel unhappy. This is most likely caused by their wrong view of happiness. What really is happiness?

            Happiness, according to Wikipedia, is a mental or emotional state of well-being characterized by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Reaching this state requires different approaches for different people. For some, being in this state is possible as long as they have goals. People need to have a sense of purpose. With a purpose, one has something to strive for, and therefore, he has something to live for. In the contrary, a person without a purpose in life feels lost in the world. Other people attempt to reach happiness with humor. Life with a sense of humor is a lot more colorful and fun, and after all, laughter is said to be the best medicine.

            The definition of happiness also differs among religions. For example, according to Buddhist teachings, the only way to achieve ultimate happiness is by overcoming craving in all forms. On the other hand, Catholics believe that beatitude or perfect happiness is to be attained not in this life, but the next. In Judaism, happiness is considered as an important element in the service of God. This reflects on the teachings of Judaism that stresses joy in the service of the Lord.

             My own personal opinion is more inclined to that of the Catholics. I believe that perfect happiness can only be attained in the next life. However, I also believe that happiness, though not in its perfect form, can be reached in this life. In my opinion, the root of unhappiness is greed. The need to have more is in the human’s nature. Looking from this point of view, the way to achieve happiness is simply to be grateful. Instead of focusing on the things he does not have, a man has to focus on what he has. That way, the feeling of dissatisfaction can be eliminated and replaced by gratefulness.

Happiness is actually a state of mind, a choice a person makes for himself. It is true that goals, humor, health, and success can lead to happiness, but they are not enough on their own. At the end of the day, a person can only achieve happiness if they choose to have it. As Aristotle said, “happiness depends upon ourselves.” As long as one chooses to be happy in his life, then happiness will be in his life.

The Chosen One

A lot of popular movies or books features a hero or heroine who is the sole person who can save the world, usually chosen by destiny. There are many reasons why so many authors chose to use 'The Chosen One' theme for their works. By using this theme, the author hopes that the readers will relate to the hero, as heroes in works that use this theme tend to start out as an ordinary person. Another reason is this theme allows the author to transform a nobody to be a hero. Take Spiderman for instance, how else could a nerdy, scrawny, and terribly plain student become a superhero? The last and the most important reason is because it simply works. Although 'The Chosen One' theme is terribly cliched, people still continue to enjoy and love it.

Light in The Darkness

            Who does not want to be a hero? When people watch movies, most of them are rooting for the noble hero. A hero tends to be portrayed as a handsome, kind-hearted man who in the end, will defeat the villain and win the female protagonist. The villain, in the other hand, is portrayed as the epitome of evil. Although most people root against villains, villains are actually one of, if not the most, crucial part of any movie. They are the ones that keep the audiences’ eyes glued on the screen the whole movie. Without them, movies will surely be very dull and boring.

            My favorite movie villain is Loki from The Avengers and Thor movie series. In fact, he is my favorite character of the movie series, over even the titular hero of the series, Thor. Loki Laufeyson is an Asgardian prince, the God of Mischief, and a major villain in The Avengers and Thor movies. In spite of his merciless ways and greed, I find this character intriguing because of his past. Since Loki was a child, he always felt out of place. Throughout his childhood, Loki put a lot of effort trying to prove himself equal to his brother, Thor, who constantly overshadowed Loki greatly. In his teenage years, it became apparent that Thor was the one that their parents and the whole kingdom favored. This is evident by the fact that Thor was the one being groomed to ascend to the throne of Asgard, despite Loki being the older son. However, when both Thor and Loki are grown up, their father, King Odin, banished and put Thor into exile because of Thor’s arrogance. During this period of time, Loki found out about his true heritage.  He discovered that he is truly the son of Laufey, the king of the Frost Giants and the enemy of the kingdom of Asgard. This discovery led Loki to hate his adoptive family even more than before. This moment of discovery can be said to be the true turning point of Loki’s character.

            As the movie series progressed, Loki became more and more ruthless, if not sadistic. Those traits, combined with his cunningness, thoughtfulness, and sharp intellect, made him the perfect nemesis to his own brother, Thor, who is noble, but also careless and impulsive. However, during his interactions with his adoptive family, especially Thor and his mother, Frigga, one can see that Loki still cared about his adoptive family, but also resented them at the same time. However, in Thor: The Dark World, after he indirectly caused the death of Frigga, he fell into a great despair, which evidences his love for his adoptive mother. These moments when Loki showed his weaknesses are the ones that attracts me most to this character. They led me to believe that no villain is purely evil. Even the most evil of all surely have some light in them. People are not born heroes or villains; they’re created by the people around them.

Dream Job

The topic in English class last week was 'Dream Job'. We were assigned to work in pairs, then interview our partners about their dream jobs, and write an essay about it. I worked with my friend, Lidia Svantyana and without further ado, here is the essay she wrote:

Finding a job is the main concern for many fresh graduates out there. But to be able to live your dream job is what everyone would like to have. Since we were young, we had dreams of what we wanted to be in the future. Some would want to be a doctor, a pilot, a model, an architect, or even an astronaut. But as we grew up, we find other interest in studies that would lead us to other dream jobs. A friend of mine, Katriel Ester Amanda, used to dream that she would be a Mathematics Professor when she was a little girl. But when she got older, she got interested in computers and decided she would like to work in the IT field instead.

When she got her first computer, she felt curious about what she can do with it and made her interested in computers. She started to learn programming even though it is a tough subject. In her high school years, she began to think of where she will continue her studies, which university would best support her dream of working in the IT field. She thinks that our country is still lacking in information technology development. Small towns in Java are still new to the term “IT” while it plays an important role in our lives. Communications between regions in Indonesia can be more efficient, jobs will be done faster, and it also improves the flow of business.

Her goal is to improve this technology in small towns in Indonesia. When every region in Indonesia are able to fully harness the potential of information technology, we could compete with other countries and not get left behind. To achieve her dreams, she is currently a college student in Bandung Institute of Technology’s School of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology. She plans to get in the Informatics major next year.

Bonjour!

Hello there!

How about some introduction? My name is Katriel Ester Amanda Siahaan, but you can call me Katie. I'm not much of a writer, but I'll try my best. I'm an avid reader and I'm very very interested in arts, especially music. In my spare time, I enjoy watching movies and reading fictional books. Well, that's pretty much it. I hope you'll enjoy my future posts!