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My thoughts about the TAAS Test aren’t very high. I didn’t like the TAAS Test because it limited my writing to 5 paragraphs and how much you were able to write. We did the reading and writing practice tests, I didn’t like them either because they were the same everytime we did them. Before the tests I was nervous because the teachers were pressing you about everything. That’s all it seemed like was discussed in classes was TAAS. No, I don’t think it was a good educational experience for me because I wasn’t able to think on my own and I don’t think it helps at all to take the TAAS Test. Those are my thoughts about the TAAS Test.
My views on the TAAS are that it was just a waste of our time, even though it might of helped, but if we didnt have to worry about the TAAS we probably would of done much more in class, than talk about and go over the practice tests and getting all worried, because if we didnt pass it we wouldnt have graduated from high school. About the TASP test i also think that this test is also a waste of time, because if u graduated and passed the TAAS then why worry about taking another test just to get in a texas college. These are my thoughts about these tests.
My whole first two years in high school was based on the TAAS. If I didn’t know better, I would think that that was the only reason for going to school. In every class, whether it be math, science, and even in our physical education classes we always had to complete. My schools whole focus was on the test scores. As a class, we felt overwhelemed and bombarded with all the infortation, teqhniques, and pre-test ideas that we dreaded going to class. We understood that it was an important test, but still we got tired of hearing about it. 20 min before lunch we had a math TAAS review session that was mandatory. The rest time, and we were being drilled math problems.
One might believe my opinion to be irrational or over exaggerating, but in my eyes I believe education is a major factor in our lives and needs to be valued a little more than what it is in Texas. When I say valued, I mean our schools should focus more on teaching students a higher level of education as possible and not what is believed to be average or accepted. Because if students are taught what is average or what the state only expects that students should know then students who only graduate from high school in Texas and can not get a well-rounded college education will live in ignorance for the rest of their lives or for at least until they become one of the lucky few to acquire a good career by chance. As residents of Texas, we as citizens need to want to gain as much knowledge as possible to become successful human beings rather than remain the average possibility. As Texans, we should be able to have pride in our educational systems and grow old knowing we are of the upmost in our schools and thereafter not what we simply just settle for relief.
Our pre-TAAS experience was boring activities that after the first or second time had no meaning. The reading section had the most useless preparation activities. In class we read over a few paragraphs and then answered some questions. It doesn’t help you at all cause every story is different and the basics of answering are common sense. The writing session was the only halfway beneficial part of the test. Basically, you wrote a letter or whatever on a given prompt and they judge you. Its like someone telling you, “your writing is worthy” or “your writing isn’t worthy”. If the TAAS gave you ideas or feedback on how to improve, then I’d say the writing was worth the time.
Overall my TAAS experience was easy. I never ever studied or prepared for it outside of class. Personally I thought standardized testing was unnecessary. Students spend eight hours a day learning and testing in school. Why should scores of some tests determine whether or not you get into college. Back to TAAS, I was extremely smart in high school and junior high and didn’t have the need to study. I felt confident when I took them and my results confirmed my confidence. I know that they are know making the tests harder, which is ok, but they shouldn’t make it too hard where tons of students aren’t passing. Personally my preparation for college came from my advanced placement courses and my will to further my education.
Overall the TAAS test seemed like a waste of time to me personally. My freshman year in high school all we did was review and review for the test. My sophomore year we did the same until the test came around in the spring. Instead of learning about more interesting and fun things, we studied how to pass the TAAS. In English we would do practice TAAS tests and exercises practically everyday. I was reluctant to do these repetitive activities everyday, but of course I was happy when I got my scores and learned that I had exceeded the requirements. I knew some kids though who didn’t do as well and it was very hard for them to accept that. It seems that there might be a different way to go about the test, and not put so much pressure on the simply passing it. I do think that the test is given for a good reason. It is important to know how a student is progressing, to see what they have learned in school so far, and to make sure they are learning the basic essential stuff. Yet it seems ridiculous to focus so much on a standardized test. I don’t think teachers should only teach about the things that will be on the test, and how to pass it. I’m not saying it is only the teacher’s decision. They feel pressure as well to help their kids pass the tests. Their students need to, and it reflects upon them. I understand that it is a requirement for high school graduation, but I don’t think it should be the main topic of study.
Overall, I have negative feelings towards TAAS. I remember liking the test the first few times I took it, but after that it became a pain. My problem was never my grades (I am TASP exempt from my TAAS scores) but just the test itself. It seemed stupid to me, but I did as I was asked. Most of the questions were tedious and boring, the type of questions I was more likely to miss because of carelessness or haste rather than lack of knowledge or understanding. Getting the scores was always exciting, but the score sheet could be confusing at first. As far as English classes go, I never felt that I was being taught for the test. This is probably because I spent most of my High School career at a Liberal Arts Academy, so the classes didn’t worry about teaching for TAAS.
Overall, I think taking TAAS is kind of silly in order to graduate from Texas High Schools. I figure that if the student doesn’t know the basic information TAAS tests on, then those people do not belong in high school. It’s sad to find out all the people that actually failed and had to retake the test. Other than the TAAS test, I hardly prepared myself by studying on any other standardized tests. I just took them based on the knowledge I already acculated.
Overall, the TAAS testing was never difficult for me or any other students who even tried at it. I think it was a good learning experience because it went over all of the basics in each subject. I believe that it also came easy for me because, up to your tenth grade yr., it was main thing you practiced for in class. In every single one of my math classes, we always did “TAAS Practice” problems. The teachers seemed to always be “preparing” us for the TAAS test, and after that, they’d prepare us for SATs and ACTs or TASP. Fortunately, after all of the practice and preparing, I did excellent on the TAAS, so I didn’t have to take the TASP, so I think all the practice paid off.
Perparing for TAAS was always a must at all the schools I attended. For the test to have been so easy I really didn’t understand why so much tutoring was needed. In middle school I had Math TAAS tutoring class for, that I hardly was awake for. In high school the school arranged pep-rallies for TAAS taking students and tutoring after school. For my Engish class if a student went to tutoring they would gain extra points on an assignment or test. Also in high school I felt like it was wrong for the TAAS test to be able to hold back students from graduating who didn’t pass the test. My reason for this was because one test shouldn’t and couldn’t examplify what one has learned all of their years in school.
Personally think the TAAS test is a waste of time. It really doesn’t jurdge your true skills especially since the teachers spend all their class time with you teaching the TAAS test. They spend the first part of the year up until you actually take the test, reviewing and quizing you. Then the remaining portion of the year is spent preparing you for the next test. Not only are students only taught TAAS, they must then unlearn everything they know as true for writing a paper after passing the exit level. The first day in my junior English class, my teacher told us all to forget absolutely everything we knew about writing because we were going to completely change it and relearn the writing process. This definitely slowed down the whole progress of my class. With the time spent unlearning and relearning correctly, we could have learned so much more necessary information, making that year and those subsequent much easier and less stressful. By cramming more information into a year, a higher level of stress is created for the students, which has been proven to cause many problems. Overall, theTAAS test is a waste of valuable time and should be done away with. If anything, I think being forced to take this test has lessened my educational experience and taken away many opportunities to learn. If it is felt that a standardized test is necessary, then it would be wise to test students over useful information and something that will help rather than hurt them.
Personally, I found the TAAS test to be a waste of time. The preparation was weak and unnecessary. Having been in honors level classes since middle school, the TAAS test was simple and the time could have been better spent in the classroom. One perk, however, was TASP exemption as a result of a high TAAS score The preparation, as I recall, was writing a page in response to a prompt, which was very closely related to the actual exam. The exam itself seemed lengthy. My overall score was as I had expected however, and looking at some people who could not pass the TAAS, it seems an accurate assessment of scholastic aptitude.
Personally, I found the TAAS test to be an insane waste of time throughout my entire grade school career. From the time I was in third grade we had been reviewed for the TAAS, and every year I blew it off and finished mastering all objectives. In high school I think it would have been much more beneficial to focus on something like the SAT or ACT rather than the TAAS--all the TAAS was was a day off for upper classmen--since we weren’t required to attend class until after the sophmores took the test. Granted, there are some poeple who can’t pass the TAAS their second year of high school. But, that problem is rooted in the Elemetary education system. I don’t think the educational standards are set high enough at a young level. The skills on the TAAS are so basic, they should be taught in elementary, or middle school--but not tested on in high school. If a high school student doesn’t know basic writing and grammar rules, it will be a lot harder to break them of their bad habits than it would have been to just teach them the rules at a young age, when the mind can soak up more information. I’m sure the TAAS test has a place in our school system, I just feel that high school is too late--the skills required on the TAAS should be mastered before that. Thank you for the opportunity to voice my opinion.
Personally, TAAS for me was an okay experience. Teachers at my high school stressed the TAAS importance on us every day and I found myself often stressing over it almost every day of my sophomore/junior year. In the classroom, teachers had us writing essay after essay, and they graded us so hard on it. I thought that when the time would come around for me to take the TAAS test, I was going to fail. I had that imprinted in my mind. It was a very overwhelming experience. When it actually came down to taking the TAAS test, I found that it was relatively easy, and I passed and received academic recognition in reading and writing. Math was not so good, but I was glad that I had passed. Most of the other students in my graduating class had to repeat the TAAS test over again and it was because they said that teachers had put so much stress on them about how important it was to pass it, that they freaked! I think that if teachers would somewhat calm down on the importance of the TAAS, then students would be able to pass it with out that overwhelming stress. Personally, it worked for me for teachers to stress about it, but it did not work for others. The only thing that bothered me the most was not getting a high enough score on the math section to be exempted from the TASP test.
Personally, the TAAS test was a waste of my time. I had signed on to the honors/ advanced classes that my school would offer. To have to regress to how to manage a TAAS test because it is required that the teacher go over it was insulting. I was not taught anything new that I had not been brainwashed in since elementary school. The test does not cover what I consider even the bare minimal of what should be required to be known in the respective subjects at that point in my education. It restricts what the teacher can teach me, the more involved and worthwhile things a student could learn. Teachers would have more time to give a more in depth and informative education.
Preparation for the SAT and ACT tests started early for me such as in junior high at [our school]. There, we took standardized tests at the end of every school year so the school administration and board could track the student’s progress and growth throughout the years.
As I got into Catholic high school at [X], studying and preparation became very important because of the high expectations of the students to excel and succeed. I took many practice tests to get the “feel” of taking it and to know some of the required knowledge. For one of those tests I had to travel to [X], TX to take. My mother also bought me flash cards and computer software programs to assist me in my preparation and studying.
On the night before the big test, I was told to get a good night rest and to eat a good breakfast. I got to the [X] College early so I was certain there would be enough room for me to get in. I was very nervous because I knew that the results from this test would determine what college I went to and how many scholarships I received. There was also somewhat of a competition among the students at my high school to get the highest scores.
I would have to say that I am an average student. I was satisfied with the scores I received because I knew I did my best. My goal was to at least get in the four digits and I accomplished that. Studying did not really help too much on the tests for me because I believe that it is knowledge that should be imprinted in your brain already and not just crammed in there only to forget soon
Preparation for the TAAS test, as well as any other standardized test I have taken in my entire educational career, did not prepare me for the actual test. I partially blame myself because I was not an active participant in the lecture classes that were to mold and shape my mind and thinking in preparation for these tests I would have to one day take. Because of my lack of enthusiasm, I didn’t glean any new knowledge from these sessions and, therefore, did poorly on probably most of the standardized tests I’ve ever taken.
Generally speaking I am probably among the worst test takers ever to have walked this green planet. When I take these tests, they are a poor reflection of my knowledge and critical thinking. I don’t know if it’s anxiety that causes me to perform so badly or sheer laziness and neglect in actively studying for them that produce the outcome I have come to be so familiar with. I say this loosely, but I do think it is a miracle that I was even allowed to enroll in this university and participate in furthering my education.
Preparing for TAAS in English was important and included in the criculum during that time. Our class was subjected to practices on sentence structure and comprehension. Examples of this include, differenciating verbs, nouns, adverbs, adjectives, conjuctions, injunctions, ect. Besides this, we also prepared by reading short essays and answering questions on it as it would appear on the test itself. As we prepared for this exam, I felt as though I was already familiar with most of the information that we covered. It was good that we practiced and had homework over what was to be on the test because the practice helped to refresh my memory. Reading the short essays also help in such a way that better prepared me on how to find and understand key points such as the main ideas in the writings.
Preparing for the ACT was very important to me during my high school years. As a sophomore at the age of 15, I took the PACT, which of course is the Pre-ACT, a preparation test. I rented a practice book from my high school library, to help me prepare. Taking the PACT really prepared me for the ACT, which I took my junior year. I took the ACT twice with an ending score of 26. I was disappointed at my ending score because it would have been much higher if I had not scored a 16 on the math section. Needless to say, math is not my strong suit. I wish I would have practiced the math more and retaken the ACT for a third time, but I never did. I am not a person who gets nervous when I take a test, I think I am lucky in that respect. I believe that not being nervous helped me do well.