22-031-2002
Growing up taking TAAS has never be a big deal just one more test that
us students have to take but I feel there are things wrong with it. It is bare minamum
knowlage that people should know and we take to meny classes to prepare for the
TAAS which do not prepare us for colage at all!
22-032-2002
Hello.
To those who dont know about the TAAS test it is a test every student
has to take at some point in High School. Most students take the acctual test
in 10th grade. This test is said that its suppost check on what you've learn so
far but its acctually to see if the teachers are doing there jobs and how the
school is going to look in the fueture and how much money they'll get.
I myself think that this test sould be done with because people all
over Texas have problems taking the TASP act and the SAT and yet thats what
most collegs look at. Why dont we have practice test over these subjects three
times a year.
22-033-2002
Honestly the TAAS for me for the dumbiest thing in the world. I
remember in high school when we started to prepare for the test we had to go
back and review things that we had already learned. To me the TAAS thing
doesn't tell the student anything. It tells the school district how much their
teachers are teaching and not what the students are learning. These days
student know every trick on how to make a passing grade. Now that it is a law
that you have to pass the TAAS to graduate from high school is just not right.
Some people are not test takers like myself and one test should not determine
if you graduate or not. When you are put in a class the grade you make in there
should matter not a test that lasts three days. I don't know if it is true but
I heard that the school that has the highest test scores recieves money. If
that is true then the school system really doesn't care about the students.
22-034-2002
Honestly the TAAS test was not that hard for me. It was a test that I
understood very well. In my English class there was a time when we spent a six
weeks on preparing for the english portion of the TAAS. We did a lot of
worksheets and practice test to help us. We also were given sample essay topics
to practice our writing skills. I felt that with all the preparation I went
through I was ready for the test. I was pretty confident in myself. When I took
the test I thought it was pretty simple. However like any other tests you take
there are always some questions that tend to confuse a bit. When I got my
results I was very happy with them. I did really good on all the portions. but
my best section was my writing. I was very proud of myself. It was a very good
educational experience for me because it opened my eyes to a different world of
testing that the ones I am use to. It helped prepare me how to handle tests
that are very important in education and that are critical to your life.
22-035-2002
I always found the TAAS test to be braindead easy.
I never studied for it I never worried about it nor did I believe that it
actually tested the minimum skills I should have acquired for the year. I mean
sophomore year of high school discerning a complete sentence from a run-on
should not be a basic high school skill; we did that in elementary school. I
always just did it because we had to and saw it as a waste of a school day. I
reaped the benefits by going to the TAAS parties and getting special treats but
I do not believe that ten years of TAAS prep helps after awhile. How many
passages written on a fourth grade level do you have to read before you figure
it out? I received the academic recognition in all areas and stuff like that
but I would have been surprised had it been any other way. I know I am not the
smartest person out there far from it but when I hear people saying how hard it
was or that it needs to be made easier I cannot believe it. Not everyone needs
to make a perfect score-that's why it is a test. how else could you make it
easier? We already teach to the test! Heck some of our revire questions have
been on the TAAS itself! I don not see it as a standard of any sort so I do not
believe that it should hold as much importance as it does.
22-036-2002
I always sharpened my number 2 pencils for the beginning of the TAAS test because the writing portion always made me a little nervous. We had practiced in school how to write the typical five paragraph papers. I also really disliked the math portion but overall I always did very well. It was a lot harder taking the SAT because I had been out of math for a couple of years but for the TAAS we were always having practice TAAS exams and things of that sort to get us prepared. OUr teachers always made sure that we were prepared. I know that in middle school we use to have to practice TAAS almost everyday. This started in the sixth grade and up. Exams always make me worried even though I was for certain that I was not going to fail. I just always wanted to make the best grade possible. I remember when I was a junior and we did not have to come to school to take the TAAS. We went to the beach and came to school later that day. It is a good feeling to know that all those years of practice are all ovewr. Now I have other exams to worry about since I am in college. I already got through the SAT and the ACT and it is good to know that you got it off your chest.
22-037-2002
I always thought that the TAAS testing is pointless. I do not see how
the state can make their students pass this test inorder to graduate. Many
students do not do well under test pressure especially if it depends on
whiether they will graduate or not. The state should focus more on SAT and ACT
testing which helps Texas students get into a good college. I never had a
problem with taking the test because I passed all of the sections. Now they
have added sciences and social studies to this test and have brought it into
elementary schools. I feel that this testing may bring down the self esteem of
younger choldren; due to the fact that if they do not pass they cannot go on to
the next grade level and they will feel inferior to the rest of the student
body. I think that as long as a student passes their classes and is educated
enough to proceed to the next level they should be able to do so without taking
a standarized test.
22-038-2002
I am from Arkansas and there we had to take standardized tests every
year except for our junior year. We also were required to take the ACT to get
into an in-state school and the ACT and SAT for an out-of-state school. These
tests seemed pointless to me because I did well in school but I'm not a very
good test taker and I don't think I reached my full potential on these tests.
22-039-2002
I am from Kansas so my experience was not with the TAAS test. I did
however take the ACT's wich is a standardized test that colleges take into
account when you enroll. The test was what I had expected because we had taken
many sample tests to prepare us for it. However it did not have anything on it
that actually went along with what we learned. Some people guessed and made
better scrores then the people who had prepared. There was also the people that
had gotton a CD-ROM or some other devise to help study. I think it was a bad
reflection of what the student had actually learned or the success they had had
in High School. You could also take this test as many times as you wanted too
so it was kind of a joke. I think overall that this is not what should make or
break a students choice of college. It did not in any way help further prepare
me.
22-040-2002
I am from Missouri so I have not experienced the TAAS testing but as
far as this opinion is concerned a response from any standardized test is
comparable. I took the ACT several times and scored well in the English section
of the test. The reading comprehension section of the test is simple if you
know how to most effectivly take it. It was easiest for me to quickly glance
over the questions so I knew what I was looking for before actually reading the
piece. This saved a lot of time because I didn't have to go back and re-read to
locate the answer. Standardized tests are easy if you are a good teat taker but
some people just aren't. Although they may know the information they for some
reason get shook up when approaching a test. This testing is helpful in
montoring how well and to what extent schools are preparing their students. At
the time a student is taking a state mandated standardixed test it seams
pointless and terrible But now looking back at all of the tests I have taken
through out high school they weren't that bad just look at it as a way to get a
little break from class.