33-241-2002
My experience with TAAS in my high school English class got us very
well prepare for the TAAS test. We would do different activities to get us
ready for this test. About time the TAAS was here I was well prepare.
33-242-2002
My experience with TAAS was different. My sophomore English teacher
had us write so much stuff that I felt was insignificant. I didn∆t like
the writing style because after TAAS you never actually write in that style.
When actually taking the TAAS I found the subject stupid and I had absolutely
no interest in the subject. I think it was something like with sports and if
the players should have to get good grades in order to play. I really
didn∆t have that much of an opinion so I was having to repeat myself a
lot until the paragraphs were complete according to the structure we were
writing in. The TAAS test didnt prepare me for later on in english when the
teacher would want more than what I was taught. I feel that TAAS was set at a
very low level and as a sophomore there should be higher expectations.
33-243-2002
My experience with TAAS was positive overall. My math teachers
prepared us very well and even though math is usually my weaker subject I
actually ended up with a higher score on the math portion than on the english
section. I don't feel as though my english teacher prepared us enough the most
difficult thing to overcome was being allowed to choose your topic or prompt during
class and then just being given a prompt on the TAAS. My advice is to become
comfortable discussing topics that you may not be familiar with and don't ever
discuss anything too controversial.
33-244-2002
My experience with TAAS was that it was a good assesment test but it
was a big waste of time and did not let us learn anything very usefull. I felt
that the TAAS was the a very bad idea due to the fact that public schools don't
teach anything at all. They are just worried about being exeplary campuses and
forget that students are there to learn not to be reviewing elementary items to
recieve a title and earn the school more government money. This test in my high
school was the only thing that mattered to the administration and half of every
class period was used to do TAAS review sheets. I felt that only classes not
affiliated with TAAS and core classes were the only ones that we learned in. I
think that the TAAS should be thrown out as a standardized test and I feel that
most will agree and I will not be used somewhere in the near future.
33-245-2002
My experience with TAAS was that it was extremely easy. I always
finished way before the other students. I always had to sit around and wait for
everyone else to finish for a couple of hours. I think that it was way too easy
and the TAAS board should make the tests harder because it really doesn't test
your skills.
33-246-2002
My experience with the TAAS test in my English classes was a waste of
time. English teachers spending all year trying to teach just the TAAS test and
not anything that makes sense. I think spending all this time preparing for the
TAAS made English class in high school the most boring class I have had in high
school. If teachers wouldn't put such an emphasis on TAAS and teach other
things that were intresting English would not be that bad and kids wouldn't get
bored and pay more attention to the class. I think if this teaching method
keeps going the way it is English class should be renamed TAAS class or next
year I guess it would be the TEEKS class (or whatever is going to replace the
TAAS).
33-247-2002
My experiences with TAAS have always been good being that it was
always easy for me to pass but it seemed like a waste of time. Throughout
highschool all they taught was TAAS material and what we needed to know to pass
and nothing that was really useful. I honestly don't think that it really
showed how much we had learned but how well we could take a test. It's
basically made up of general material that we may have learned two years before
but is very general. I also think that instead of learning TAAS material we
could be learning things that would help us out in the real world and prepare
us for college more.
33-248-2002
My experiences with TAAS testing started really early in Elementary
School. I don't remember what grade exactly that we started practicing with the
TAAS but I do remember that my friends and I were really not that excited about
having to take another boring test. But I do remember taking the TAAS test in
High School five years ago which was my sophmore year. I am not going to say I
hated taking the test it just was a waste of time in High School. I started
taking that test at a very early age and had to continue taking it all the way through
my sophmore year. One thing that I didn't like about it was that if someone did
not pass the test they couldn't walk the stage the day graduation rolled
around. I had a friend that could not pass the TAAS for nothing but made all
A's throughout High School and they wouldn't let him graduate with all of us. I
don't think it's right how they have this rule about not passing. One thing
that I did like about it was that if you make a really good score on the test
your exempt from the TASP which you either have to be exempt from or take it to
get in college. Too bad that I can't write about the SAT because that test
really pisses me off. But I guess I will continue on with the TAAS. I guess if
the state thinks the tests helps them with making statistics and other
information then I guess they can keep it around. I am really not worried about
it anymore because I don't have to take it ever again!! If they got rid of the
test it would make me mad because I want everybody younger than me to suffer
and take the same damn test also!!
33-249-2002
My experiences with the TAAS exam have always been quite pleasant. My
teachers were always very specific about what we needed to know and did not
hesitate to spend class time going over main objectives for scoring high on the
TAAS exam. During my sophomore year in high school I completed the TAAS exam
with almost a perfect score. Going into the exam I was quite nervous as I
always am when it comes to any standardized test because the TAAS has always
been labeled as any easy test therefore who wants to admit that they received a
low score. I did manage to pull it off and missed one problem total allowing me
to exempt the TASP which had been my goal from the beginning. I do have to
admit that even though the TAAS exam was an easy way to get a high score on my
transcript I was glad when it was all over. I am glad that I am through taking
the TAAS exam especially since they are now adding a lot to it including more
subject matter on areas that were rarely covered during the times when I
encountered it.
As far as the SAT's are concerned I absolutely despise them. I think
it is the most ridiculous thing in the world to give a timed test to students
that will live with him/her through high school as well as college and have a significant
impact on so many things that he/she does. Every student works differently and
when it comes to tests (especially those that are standardized) I personally do
not do well under time constraints. Each individual has a different level of
comprehension varying speeds of reading and basically just really need time to
adapt to the subject they are working on in consideration of his/her strengths.
It angers me that my intelligence is at times based on a standardized test that
I was only allowed to take in short intervals of 15-45 minutes. When a test
counts for so much such as admission to a university scholarship eligibility
and financial aid there should not be a particular time limit. Of course
understandably more than twelve hours would be a little overboard but even a
five hour period of time in which a student can choose how to divide up that
time would be appropriate. Not to mention the content of the SAT's does not
truly test the intelligence of anyone. All it does is determine how good a
person is at figuring tricky questions. So many of the questions asked on the
SATs are intended to throw a student off and how does it make me more
intelligent to sit there and critique the credibility of the question. What is
even more ridiculous is that the SAT is a standardized test which would
normally be a test that you would just take and therefore be able to determine
how much you know and what you need to learn however there are hundreds of
books and classes offered for SAT preparation. What is that all about? So
rather than being a test of someone's intelligence it becomes a competition to
see who can do the most preparation and spend time that so many do not have
taking classes that will make them smarter. The truth is this preparation does
not make the person more intelligent concerning the things they will need to
know later in life it just allows insight into what needs to be known to ace
the SATs. Well BIG DEAL! When it comes to an indivdual graduating with a major
in nursing pre-med biology education or what-not who really cares whether they
knew what the story about the little dog was trying to portray and how does
that determine that an individual deserved to apply for a scholarship more-so
than another. The SATs do not prove anything. They can easily make a good
student with a great mind feel like a complete moron or otherwise make a
complete moron appear to be Albert Einstein. I personally feel that
standardized testing should be nothing more than an attempt at seeing what
kinds of things students are learning and understanding and should have no part
in his/her permanent record.
33-250-2002
My experiences with the TAAS test were nothing extravagant it was
simply a must take test in order to graduate. Well I went into the testing room
and just went through the test with a basic ease. The only thing that I felt I
was cheated of was my essay it was a low score for my writing style but the
TAAS essay was supposed to be an elaborate story of the topic and thats what I
gave and I felt that my score should have been better. The TAAS is a good
difficulty I think because theres not to much emphasis on if you don't pass it
then you won't graduate.