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Bill: National Educational Standardized Testing Reform
Details
Submitted by[?]: Lodamun Distributionist Party
Status[?]: defeated
Votes: This is an ordinary bill. It requires more yes votes than no votes. This bill will not pass any sooner than the deadline.
Voting deadline: October 2414
Description[?]:
| It is the opinion of the LDP that a nationally regulated standardized testing scheme is not the most reliable way to judge the competence of students. We propose a move away from a testing scheme that rewards those individuals who can memorize and regurgitate disconnected facts and toward performance-based testing. This move will allow a more accurate view of those students who have not only learned the facts associated with their educations, but can also successfully put them into practice in their lives. |
Proposals
Article 1
Proposal[?] to change National Curriculum
Old value:: invalid choice
Current: There is a National Curriculum which all government schools are obliged to follow; non-government schools are partially exempt.
Proposed: invalid choice
Debate
These messages have been posted to debate on this bill:
| Date | 01:12:17, June 04, 2007 CET | From | United Republics Party | To | Debating the National Educational Standardized Testing Reform |
| Message | The URP agrees |
| Date | 12:00:51, June 04, 2007 CET | From | Radical Nationalist Party | To | Debating the National Educational Standardized Testing Reform |
| Message | We would prefer if there was a balance between the two. |
| Date | 17:58:17, June 04, 2007 CET | From | Lodamun Distributionist Party | To | Debating the National Educational Standardized Testing Reform |
| Message | OOC: Well...me too, but that's really not an option, sadly. I still think that THIS option is far better than just tests. |
| Date | 03:50:04, June 05, 2007 CET | From | Free Lodamun | To | Debating the National Educational Standardized Testing Reform |
| Message | This seems to me as it will increase school costs exponentially. Furthermore, when we test "in the work field," what field will that refer to when we test ages 5-15? I'll concede that by 16 a child may have some idea what field of work they wish to pursue, but are we asking children to decide what they want to be and test accordingly throughout their whole lives? I'm not against this in principle, but we have one of the best education systems in the world, I would like to know what we're voting on before we commit to something that could damage our current system and set us back a generation of youth. |
| Date | 17:11:25, June 06, 2007 CET | From | Lodamun Distributionist Party | To | Debating the National Educational Standardized Testing Reform |
| Message | These are all valid concerns. First, a few clarifications. As stated previously, I would prefer to strike a more balanced approach between classroom and practical testing. That is not, unfortunately, an option open to us at the moment. Also, let me be more specific about the phrase "in the work field" as it applies to this proposal. Due to the limitations of proposal publishing, this poorly worded phrase was, by necessity, included. I greatly prefer a description more akin to "practical testing" or "situational testing." This means that, rather than focusing on how much information a student can stuff into their short-term memory and reproduce on paper, testing would (in applicable situations) focus on practical applications of learned knowledge. I think this should answer your question about the testing of younger students. I disagree that this would increase education costs "exponentially." I wish to be clear, however: this will cost money. Science labs will need inspected and properly outfitted, computers and computer software will be researched and purchased, teachers will need new training. All of this will take money. But money spent well on education is never a waste. As such, the first step in the implementation of this bill would be the formation of an exploratory committee, charged with finding ways to implement these proposals with the least disruption and lowest cost, while still reaching the goals set by the bill. As it stands, we spend millions of dollars each year on standardized testing at grades 4, 9 and 12. Even a cursory glance at the lesson plans of an average grade 9 instructor will show that an inordinate amount of time, in some cases as much a half the school year, is being devoted not to studying important information, but to teaching students how to take the standardized tests well and focusing on only the topics the tests will cover. This is NOT an adequate education. I implore the members of this legislature to look on the impressive education statistics and see them for what they are: the reflection of a generation that is not learning how to learn well, but a generation that is learning how to test well. We, the LDP, believe that we owe our students better than this. |
| Date | 20:12:18, June 13, 2007 CET | From | United Republics Party | To | Debating the National Educational Standardized Testing Reform |
| Message | can we put this bill to a vote? |
| Date | 21:38:26, June 13, 2007 CET | From | Lodamun Distributionist Party | To | Debating the National Educational Standardized Testing Reform |
| Message | We certainly can. I was waiting until July ended, but I guess it doesn't really matter. |
| Date | 02:32:31, June 14, 2007 CET | From | Lodamun Liberal-Conservative Party | To | Debating the National Educational Standardized Testing Reform |
| Message | The Lodamun Liberal-Conservative Party certainly supports this proposal in theory. We have one concern, however - we would prefer it if the funding for the updates required by this new system were not tax-payer funded. Does the LDP have any alternative solutions for funding? What if the funding required for the changes was built into school fees? We are sure that parents would be more than happy to pay more for better standards of education. |
| Date | 04:44:49, June 14, 2007 CET | From | New Democratic Party | To | Debating the National Educational Standardized Testing Reform |
| Message | The NDP backs this bill wholeheartedly, and believes that funding will not be the big deal it's being made out to be. The "practical testing in the work field" can involve community and perhaps even mentor-apprentice-type learning environments. This must be cheaper than paying to proctor identical tests in every school throughout the Kingdoms, not to mention the difficult and costly task of interpreting the accompanying data. We should also note that hands on, practical assessments are fundamentally more accurate than high-stakes standardized tests which only evaluate low-level thinking skills. In order to keep our education system competitive and "one of the best in the world" we must give each of our citizens the best education possible. |
| Date | 05:33:46, June 16, 2007 CET | From | The Unified Lodamun Party | To | Debating the National Educational Standardized Testing Reform |
| Message | Just so we are aware, this apprentice style of educational reform will be very costly, however the Unified Lodamun's agree that it is time to spend a considerable amount more on education with our federal budget. |
| Date | 22:27:24, June 16, 2007 CET | From | United Republics Party | To | Debating the National Educational Standardized Testing Reform |
| Message | I apologize for changing my vote at the last moment especially considering my previous endorsement, but the URP regrets it can no longer support this bill. |
| Date | 08:16:58, June 17, 2007 CET | From | Lodamun Distributionist Party | To | Debating the National Educational Standardized Testing Reform |
| Message | For what reasons, pray tell? |
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Voting
| Vote | Seats | |||||
| yes |
Total Seats: 65 | |||||
| no |
Total Seats: 431 | |||||
| abstain | Total Seats: 103 |
| Random fact: In general, role-play requires the consent of all players. |
| Random quote: "The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes." - Winston Churchill |