Dogs, Railroads, and Robots

One thing I’ve never understood is the reason for the TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) tests. They aren’t really a benchmark for the progress for the students, but more of a benchmark for the school. List of things that the TAKS is useful for:

• Benchmark for the school’s progress in boring to death the district’s students and teachers.
• A tool to fire, give a raise to, or dock the pay of teachers.

List of things the TAKS is not useful for:

• a benchmark for the student’s progress
• a way to effectively test the student’s knowledge of basic skills and concepts.

So, as you can see, there is no purpose for the TAKS tests. So… why have it?

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