In 1914 Frederick Jay Kelly created standardized testing (Davidson, 113). Cathy Davidson stated that one reason Kelly created standardized testing was, as Kelly wrote, “There has always been a demand on the part of teachers to know how effectively they are developing in their children the ability to get meaning from the printed page. Nothing is more fundamentally important in our school work than the development of this ability” (114). Many institutions still use standardized tests to determine a student’s understanding of a subject.
Kelly later wrote that he wasn't sure if standardized tests really were the best method to assess understanding. In fact, he explains, “College practices have shifted the responsibility from the student to the
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There should be some requirements or limits for younger students, but as they get older they should be allowed more options and freedom. This also makes a difference in interests, abilities, and individuals less pronounced and more easily accepted.
Having depth would give students choices that allow them to pursue their interests in an appropriate way. E.D. Hirsch Jr. suggested, “We should teach a diversity of subjects that will lead to broad general knowledge, and we should also teach in some depth of moderate number of specific examples” (23). Schools should not attempt to teach students everything about every subject, but instead, allow the students to choose subjects they wish to learn about and provide those opportunities for them.
Dynamism would allow for interaction and collaboration between students that are different ages, have different abilities, and teacher. These relationships should be allowed and encouraged. This would help students learn how to communicate, interact, and work with people beyond their peer group. It would also allow students the opportunity to understand and see things on a broader