Current Event

Last night I watched the news and they announced the city of Lynchburg’s 2017 Standards Of Learning (SOL) test scores. In all academic subjects the SOL scores dropped lower in the year of 2017 than in the year of 2016.  This relates to my academic interest because I want to a special education teacher. I do not agree with teaching to a standardized test because of the pressure it adds to both students and teachers. I feel as if teachers are educating their students at a faster rate because of these test. If a student is struggling or not understanding a specific subject, there is no time to sit down with them and cater to their needs. Also, teachers do not have the opportunity to teach outside the curriculum because of these restricting test. There are important lessons students could  learn through a teacher but will not have these opportunities.  I attached this video about teachers pushing to reduce standardized testing because it interviews teachers on the topic. Many teachers feel as if the test do not actually reflect what the students are learning. I think it is great to not eliminate testing but reduce them because that can decrease the pressure on both students and teachers.