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Actually, all the teachers taught in the high school I attended was TAAS, it was a TAAS based curriculum. It did me absolutly no good, and only made me resent going to class. The school I came from was a TAAS recognized school if it gives any hint on what we focused on in all TAAS related classes. The preparedness for the test is doing me absolutely no good in the type of writing I am involved in now. In TAAS, the person was not suppose to enter his or her own opinion using I, me, or my, and using them in writting now and voicing my own opinion on a matter is a new thing for me. We were taught to use 5 paragraphs and to always agree with the prompt because there were more good points when you agree. Even in my college based engilsh class my senior year we were taught in the TAAS based writting style. The only way it could have helped was in my grammar and spelling, which as you can see, isn’t top of the line. I got tired of hearing the same TAAS curriculum year after year. It also limited what we read and what we wrote, class wasnt interesting and we werent learning anything new.
Actually, I hated the TAAS test. I thought that the schools spent way too much time teaching TAAS. As a matter of fact, that is the only thing many of our teachers ever worked on. The test was extremly easy, and it makes me mad to even think that many children didn’t pass it. I had no emotion at all at learning my scores because I already knew I had done a good job. I think they are so pointless that you could teach a chimpanzee to do those sort of problems. Overall, it was a bad learning experience. I wasted semesters of my life, and frankly, I don’t ever want to hear the word TAAS again.
After the testing was done, we had a party. In our English class, we began to read out of our books. We really didn’t do much after taking the TAAS. We just sat around and waited for our scores. When they finally came in, we went to the counselor’s office in alphabetical order and received our scores. It turned out that we got exemplary status. Every sophomore past the English part of the TAAS test. Because of our achievemests we got to go on a trip.
To be honest, preparing for the TAAS test was Hell. Is was almost like an academic basic training for students. I can’t say that it didn’t help me out. Overall, I think preparing for and taking the TAAS test is a good experience.
All the tests did was make us feel smarter then what we really were. Because like someone said during class even those that were exempt from the TASP still had to take remedial classes here at school. In other words I did not like it.
All the way through school from first grade up until the tenth grade all we ever did was learn about how to write for TAAS. It is a good way to get a good score on the test, but thats pretty much all we learned. In my school, we always had one of the highest overall averages in the state of Texas for TAAS. That looks really good for the school, but it didn’t really help us students, becasue I know I wasn’t prepared for the kind of writing I am doing now. We would write practice essays all the time and we would prepare endlessly on whatever the test had on it. I dont think it was very educational for students becase like I said earlier it doesn’t really prepare you for college. I think Texas schools focus way to much on standardized tests like the TAAS as well as the college entry exam the TASP. None of my teachers really helped out for the ACT or SAT. Instead of training us how to write for the TAAS, they should have been teaching us how to prepare ourselves for college level writing. Maybe in some of the advanced or honor classes the teachers might have been focused on a more college level, but I know the regular English did not. Even when I took honors English, the only major differences were the books we read and I think we had to write like one more paper than in regular English. I think Texas schools need to stop thinking about the standarized tests and start teaching kids so that they can learn and do well in college.
All through grade school, my fellow students and I were required to take the TAAS test every couple of years. The years we didn’t have to take the actual test, we had to take practice tests, which were just as tedious. As a result, my writing skills are left at a basic, not quite developed level. We focused more on formatted writing styles; the usual five paragraph essay with a redundant paragraph structure. After spending much time early on trying to imitate this type of writing style, we spent much of high school English courses trying to expand to more individualist writing. Creative writing was not emphasized to the extent that it should have been, for most of the writing we did consisted of essays. We spent a lot of time focusing on practice writings, which in the end robbed us of a natural development of writing technique. The writing section of the exam was generally about one and a half hours long. Then we had to wait about six months to get the results back. The grading was done on a scale of one to four. I could usually expect to receive a score of three. Overall, I think the experience was good in helping me develop a reasonable essay format, but it didn’t really provide me with much of a developed free-writing style.
All throughout my schooling years, I have made quite impressing grades and test scores. In high school, it was delegated that every Tuesday, the entire student body would practice for the TAAS test if classified in the freshman and sophomore status and the SAT/ACT college admission tests for juniors and seniors. Most students and even many teachers dreaded this either because it took up class time or was too boring. The TAAS practice tests consisted of 10-15 questions each and usually review of simple Algebra or sentence comparison. As for the SAT/ACT practice tests, they were difficult at times and even confusing for the teachers to explain. I really don’t think that these attempts to higher scores were not very beneficial at all due to the amount of boredom it held.
Although I never really minded taking the TAAS, I did find the test quite tedious. Every single year we had to prepare for the TAAS, and every single year it was the same effortless test-taking experience. I suppose since I always did well on the TAAS, I didn’t and still don’t see what the big deal was. We were always taking practice TAAS tests and going over the “right-way” to write a paper in my elementary and junior high classes. I think there could have been less focus on the TAAS and more focus on learning new subjects. For instance, there should have been more focus in my math classes getting us ready for higher level math, instead of making sure we could get high sores on TAAS that would in turn make the school look better. I’m sure that this wasn’t the goal of every school in the state, but it seemed that way at my school. It’s hard to say whether or not the test actually measured our academic skills, because it seemed like we were simply regurgitating the same information year after year. As for being prepared, I believe we were all extremely prepared for the test and I was always quite satisfied with my results on the test. I think as an English student I am still trying to learn not to write in TAAS format, while it might have been effective on the TAAS, it was not however, effective for my honors English classes in high school.
As a high school student, I was subjected to all sorts of standardized tests. They ranged in difficulty but they were all fairly easy. They all had in common the fact that there was no direct way to study or prepare for them, either you knew the material or you didn’t. When the TAAS came around sophomore year, it was intimidating to the students because of the weight that was put on it. But when the test actually came around, I was somewhat surprised with how easy it was. The prompt was typical and boring and easy to write about. It seemed as though it was just to determine basic writing and thinking abilities, not to determine if we were excelling in the areas. I can remember walking out of the classroom thinking I hadn’t written that good of an essay, at least in my eyes, but I received a 4 on it. Furthermore, I missed one math question and no reading questions. And I am horrible at math. The test was not comprehensive enough and was too simple in my and other students eyes. But we would have never said that in high school.
As a recent high school graduate, the TAAS test is not that far in my memory. I remember the anxiety I felt leading up to the day of the exam. The teachers at my high school put a lot of pressure on us to do well. So I felt as if I had an obligation to do the best job I could possibly do. However, aside from class time I did not spend too much time studying at home. But it seems like teachers put an overwhelming amount of pressure on us as students to do well. For weeks we did nothing but study for the TAAS and go over TAAS curriculum in class. In a way I felt that I was robbed of my education because for months we did not learn anything else. But the test itself seemed pretty mediocre. I didn’t have trouble with the test. After all, I had learned nothing but TAAS material for nearly the entire school year. And only in Texas does this kind of torturous test carry such importance. I attended public school for nine years in Arizona and I felt like I had received a great education. However, when I came to Texas they made me feel as if I was from outer space because I hadn’t taken the TAAS yet. Come on, maybe we should lighten up a little. But in the end, I passed the TAAS test with flying colors. I guess I’m not from outer space after all.
As a student at [my] Catholic high School in Missouri, the only standardized testing that I had to worry about was the ACT (for those students interested in East coast schools, the SAT was required). At my school, they began preparing us for these standardized tests our freshmen year. We had classes that were designed to prepare us for the tests, as well as school-wide preparation exams. The tests were taken very seriously at my school, probably because it is a college preparatory high school, and all but approximately three percent of the graduates proceed to attend a University.
The classes that prepared us for the tests were in my opinion the most effective. Our teacher guided us through the ACT booklets and study guides, which were remarkably similar to the actual test. This prepared us for the preparation exams that were taken at the end of the year. Each year, the classes (freshmen, sophomore, juniors, and seniors) were required to participate in a practice test that mimics the ACT. This prepared us for the style of questions we were in stare for, as well as time management.
Besides the in-school preparation, I went to a tutor for six months preparing for the math and science sections prior to my junior year. By taking the practice exams, I learned that my math and science skills were not what I wanted them to be. I bought note-cards that are published by the ACT people, and studied them with my tutor a few times a week. In the long run, I ended up with what I believe to be a good score, considering how poor my test scores typically are. I believe that the ACT was a positive learning experience for me because it taught me that working hard will pay off. Since I was brainwashed to think that doing poorly on the Act would result in being rejected from any college I applied to, I suppose that having that fear deep-rooted inside me helped as well.
As a student in an English class, the TAAS experience was pretty boring for me. Everyday for weeks we would do the same routine over and over again. We come into class, the teacher hands out a stupid little exercise, everybody does it, and then we go over it out loud to make sure that everybody got the correct answer. These were excercises that you should have learned in first through fifth grade. Even the high school, TAAS test is about things that you should have learned in elementary school. I think all of the practice that we did for TAAS was a waste of time in high school. We are supposed to be getting prepared for college, yet these stupid practices are taking up our time. Instead of learning things that are supposed to prepare us for college we are doing things like finding a punctuation or capitalization error. I do think that there needs to be some type of standardized testing, but if the tests are going to be so easy then I think that the teachers need to spend less time on doing practice TAAS exams and problems. I was very confident when I took the TAAS test because I had learned these things a long time ago so I knew that I would do well. I think that I thought that I would do so well that I might have even not tried my hardest. But I was very happy with the results that I got. I just think that the teachers need to stop wasting our time.
As a student in an English class, the TAAS test has always been a sore subject for me. I have never had a problem with the test itself besides the fact that I felt it held me back from higher learning in my primary education. I saw many students who struggled with it and I myself had to be taught at the same pace. My peers who struggled with the test took remedial classes, but the school as a whole taught based on the test. They taught us the test over and over; it seemed to be the same ciriculum every year. I always scored in the top bracket and received fours on my writing. However the experience of others seemed to haunt everyone.
My mother taught ESL for an elementary in my hometown and having all Hispanic students who spoke little or no English, she experienced many challenges. The school told her that her students would not take the test in fear that they would cause low results school wide. It took a three month long battle, but they finally took the TAAS and passed. The schools in our district seemed to single out the children who did poorly or who they thought would do poorly and simply tried to hold them back or put them in remedial classes. This gave them little chances and caused them to miss out on important things such as fine arts and the creativity it produces in children.
Those of us who found the TAAS easy were still taught the test. My knowledge of literature was developed on my own as well as my study skills. The test seemed to be the axis on which all learning rotated on and it made us despise it.
As a student, I found the preparations for TAAS somewhat boring. I usually dragged through all of the TAAS activities and mini practice tests. Gong over middle school English and math in high school was hardly what I considered interesting, but we had to do what we had to do. Although I usually disliked TAAS preparation, I didn’t really mind taking the actual test. The fact that they were not timed relieved a lot of pressure and helped me to do better. I think that this is a big factor in test taking. Usually when a test is timed students try to rush through and this may be a cause for poor results. We also had a good break after taking the test so I didn’t really mind that at all. When I got the results back, I really wasn’t sweating too much over passing. I knew that I had passed. I just wasn’t sure how great I did. Overall though, I don’t think that students should be looked upon over one test. Some students may just be good test takers and others may have just had a bad day and did poorly for some other reasons.
As an English student, the TAAS test was not a good experience. I felt that it was a waste of time. My school did not really prepare for it in any particular way. They told us we were going to be taking it and went over the basics of grammar, but they didn’t really do anything to prepare us for it. We were basically on our own. If we wanted to do well, than we had prepare by ourselves, if not, then you just took it and didn’t really care what your outcome was. I felt that it was not necessary to take and I don’t know why they make us take it, just to compare us to others? Some people are not good test takers and they need lots of time to do write. They rushed us through it, not allowing us to think about it and put what we really felt. I felt that it was too easy for people of high school age. It was more like a junior high test.
As far as the results of the TAAS, I had nothing to worry about. I always did good and passed or mastered all objectives. However, I know that my fellow classmates and I would get frustrated and tired of doing so many TAAS exercises and practice tests. Sometimes it was like the teachers spent all their time preparing for TAAS and ignoring the rest of the stuff. I now feel that I was only taught how to write the “TAAS way” and I wasn’t really prepared for different types of essays that I would have to write in the future. My class, unfortunately, was the class that they kept changing the year for the TAAS on and we felt like we basically took the test every year. We were TAAS-ed out. I think that after being drilled constantly on how to write the TAAS way it is hard to get out of that mode of writing. Maybe if our teachers hadn’t spent so much time preparing for TAAS our other grammar and writing skills would be more refined. We would know how to produce various different types of writing. I think that maybe the test should only have to be taken in one grade. This way we prepare for it and get it out of the way instead of spending all our school years practicing TAAS material.
As for the TAAS it was really no big deal for me. I really don’t know why teachers made such a big fuss over it. To me it was a piece of cakes. I was more than well prepared. I did feel like I was learning the same thing as I had in elementary. I do think that although it annoyed me it was a good thing for my benefit. I learned a lot of different styles of writing. I learned from all my errors and always tried my best. I wasn’t the perfect writer but it was satisfactory for my instructor. I think that from those times I have become a better writer when I was finishing high school. The thing I didn’t like was the whole intro thing. I wanted to have my own original introduction, but they always wanted one that made them feel better. It just made me think that it made the writings too fake. At then end I was more than prepared. Of course another thing was that I didn’t like the topic. I wont write to well if the topic don’t interest me. Pretty much I just did as I could and it managed to exempt me from the TASP test.
At my high school in [X], the faculty focuses heavily on the TAAS program. I took the TAAS my sophomore year. During the year before we took the test, we practiced it all the time, writing a bunch of essays and going over grammar. Our principal makes a deal with the students every year. The year I took it, he said if we got eighty-five percent and above on all portions of the test, we would all take a trip to Fiesta Texas. (And we did) I personally hate the TAAS, because I am not very good at taking those kinds of tests. (Like ACT, SAT) I don’t remember what I made on the grammar part but I made a three on my essay. The thing I hated the most was reading the passages and answering the questions over them. Overall, I don’t think we need the TAAS test anymore.
At my high school it appeared that TAAS was the only thing our teachers were worried about, especially in our math classes. ALL we would focus on were TAAS-like questions and practice tests, mainly on the fact that the better the students did at the TAAS, the better the school would look.
I did very well on almost all parts of my TAAS, my math scores were above average and I did well on the grammar section of the TAAS; the only section that I suffered in was the writing portion. I had problems filling up the page with my ideas, and I had found it hard to passionately write about the boring topics. Many of the other students became TASP exempt because of their TAAS scores I, on the other hand, was not because I did poorly on the writing part.
It was hard to use the TAAS as a learning tool, because it was one of the only tools we used. The only thing it actually taught me was that I had poor, writing skills, something that had already become apparent to me.
At my high school TAAS was the biggest deal. Every class, every teacher stopped all their regular teachings and focused on the TAAS. In English we practiced our writing skills over and over again. Math classes were the same way in that we practiced simple word problems. In history we would take history essays from worksheets and answer multiple questions from them like on TAAS. The only time we did not practice TAAS was in our elective classes. That was our freedom time. I feel this was good and bad. Good because we got a lot of practice and bad because it stressed us out even more and we got burnt out of doing so much TAAS related things. In the end it turned out good because we got such great test scores.