25-091-2002
I felt that the TAAS test was pretty easy and a waist of time. We took
so much class time just to work on TAAS. I was so borred I didn't even feel
like comming to school anymore. The monotany of TAAS practice was driving my
friends and me crasy!!!!!! And even worse we don't only have to take this test
once but like 4 times through our schooling years. Just think of all the other
interesting things we could have done in class besides TAAS.
25-092-2002
I felt that the TAAS test was unnecesary because there were other
tests that were more important in high school. How can you deprive someone from
taking a real test just because thier score was just enough to make them
exempt. I think that if it is necessary to issue that test in high school then
go ahead but it shouldnt count enough to make students exempt from taking the
TASP test. This is because the TASP test is looked at in college more than the
TAAS. When you are in college they look at you TASP ACT and SAT you never hear
an advisor ask, “So Amy, what did you get on your TAAS test?”
25-093-2002
I felt that the TAAS testing was insipid. I hated to have to do a 30
minute test in 4 hours. The test was incredibly easy. In tenth grade I was
tested on things that I learned in the sixth grade. I wish that something would
have been done about this while I was still in high school.
25-094-2002
I felt the TAAS test was a waste of my time. In the middle of the year
teachers would stop their normal lesson plans and prepare us for the TAAS test.
Instead of teaching students the test the faculty could have been teaching
their students normally. I feel this way particularly for the writing portion
of the test. Other than the test I have never written essays like that for any
other class. In fact after the TAAS test is over several teachers have
instructed me to forget about the TAAS way of writing and to write normally. I
also feel strongly against the test's standardized format because I'm not a
good standardized test taker. I do well with other formats but standardized
tests I don't.
25-095-2002
I find the TAAS test a pointless test. All we would do all year long
in school is study for this one test that we would have to pass. We never did
any work that would help us because we were to busy trying to become the
"number one" in TAAS testing schools. Not only did we have to do all
the pointless TAAS review work but we also had to stay in the room that we took
the test until everyone was done testing. That was retarded! Nobody took the
test seriously so they would just answer everything as fast as they could so
they could get nap time or talk time in when they were finished testing. I find
it an over rated test that is long and boring. I think it should be done away
with.
25-096-2002
I found that the TAAS did not prepare me for higher level English
class and could not adequately test my current English skills. It took away
class time that could be used in more constructive ways. The English portion of
the TAAS is used as a measurement of a student's ability to read write and
comprehend. Because so much time is used in class to prepare students to do
well on the test much time is wasted that could have been used for more quality
literary and composition education. The teachers are instructed to teach only
at a level high enough to enable students to pass TAAS.
During the composition part of the TAAS students are taught to write
in the “4 16 16 16 4” method and miss out on the true purpose of writing. The
topics chosen to write on are usually not interesting to the students, and so
instead of focusing on writing a quality argument students spend much time and
effort trying to fill in the correct number of lines.
The focus of the reading portion of the TAAS is simply to show that a
student can comprehend main ideas of a passage. This entails going back to the
passage and finding the answer to the question in the story. The questions are
directed to students at a low comprehension level and therefore are not
challenging to the average student. This causes the students to have little
motivation to do well on the test.
The writing parts of the TAAS tests students understand of correct sentence
structure and grammar. There is more to writing a quality piece of work than
spelling and punctuation. Understanding the rules of placement for a comma or
pointing out the absence of a period can not test a students understanding of
why the piece was composed a certain way.
If less time was spent focusing on the very basics that TAAS teaches
students could be better prepared for high school and college level writing
classes. Understanding of composition as a whole could improve. If a student is
unable to pass the TAAS and needs extra help it would be beneficial to the
student to be taught at a lower level. Students that can pass the TAAS find it
a waste of time and those that need extra help are not being taught at level
appropriate to them.
25-097-2002
I graduated from [X] High School in [X] Texas. I don't really remember
studying for the TAAS test all that much. I do remember doing tons of
vocabulary and making sure that we could spell correctly and know how to wrote
a sentence. I passed the test with flying colors and I am not a very good
speller and just put my thoughts on paper no tellin if its a run on or
whatever. I think that the TAAS test was a little too easy yet I know many
people that had a hard time finishing it. I saw some of the questions on the
new test that they have put put and I didn't understand many of them. I think
that a bunch of kids are gonna fail or drop out because they can't pass the
test. I also think that they put way too much pressure on the kids to pass the
test and not enough on what hey are gonna need in college and the work force.
25-098-2002
I graduated from [X] High School so I never had to take the TAAS test.
I have taken a few timed writing tests though. How do you prepare for a writing
test? The only way I prepare is to go over some of my other writing
assignments. What did I do right/wrong? How can I improve on my weak areas? I
do think timed writings can be good because they give your first ideas and
views of the subject before you have time to go home and refresh these ideas.
However the one thing we were taught about writing was when you first start a
piece of writing you should just sit down and write without actually thinking.
Then you should go back and revise. When you have a timed writing you dont have
the time to polish your work. So all the reader is ever getting is a rough
draft.
25-099-2002
I had a positive TAAS experience. I thought the TAAS was very easy.
25-100-2002
I hate the TAAS test in english class because we would get hundreds of
packets that we had to do that were so much harder than the TAAS test was. But
the TAAS test wasn't even hard at all.