Why some students think the TAKS is a waste of time

DallasNews.com | News for Dallas, Texas | Collin County Opinion: "I, along with public school students throughout the state of Texas, recently suffered through the arduously dull task of Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills testing. My entire school year revolved around this momentous occasion ... and I learned little.

TAKS may keep schools accountable to the 'standards' imposed by the federal government and various politicians under No Child Left Behind, but it does little to help the education of students like myself. I once arrived at school with passionate joy, with a zeal for my next lesson in literature, history, science or any other great subject; now sheer drudgery and disappointment fill my school days.

Why? I learn little, if anything, but prepackaged lessons directed toward TAKS testing. Students in generations past read Plato, Shakespeare and Joyce; modern students learn how to take tests."

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