Counterargument Assignment

Counter Argument: Standardized Testing is an effective way of measuring student success.


Paragraph: Standardized testing is a very popular component in schools today. Intended for measurement, parents rest a surly that these tests are only beneficial to their student. Many believe that standardized tests are crucial for not only student measurement, but also holding teachers, schools, and education itself accountable. Herbert J. Walberg of Stanford University believes that without standardized tests, there would not be an accurate way to discover individual student’s strengths and weaknesses (Walberg). Education officials use standardized tests to better educate students based on their individual needs, and without them there would not be an accurate way to do so. Maybe that is what standardized tests are intended for, but the information that standardized tests are said to give, are not worth the detrimental issues students are dealing with today.

Argument Blog

Claim: The effects that standardized tests have on public school education are not beneficial  and standardized tests should be completely eliminated from our education system.

Reasons:
-Promotes cheating
-Not an effective measurement
-Excessive testing=anxiety 
-Discrimination

Counterargument:
Standardized testing is an effective measurement of student success--- using surprising reversal.

Organization:
I will use my claim to bring in my supporting points, and create a thesis. Then, I was thinking that I would have my next paragraph be about my counterargument, using surprising reversal. After that, I am going to have a paragraph for each of my main points (Promotes cheating, not an effective measurement  excessive testing= anxiety, discrimination). I will then have a paragraph about my solution, which is eliminating standardized tests completely  Then I will have a conclusion to recap everything. 

ZERO DRAFT

Zero Draft

Heather Rankin

November 10, 2013

 

Things I know:

·         I know that I am using the same articles I used for my synthesis essay: Concordia article, Pro-con article, TIME article, The New Republic article, and The New Internationalist article. I wasn’t too sure about using these articles again for my argumentative essay, but after seeing how much they helped my synthesis essay, I think that they would help.

·         I know that my topic is on standardized tests and I am claiming that the effects that standardized tests have on public school education is bad.

Things I am unsure about:

·         I am still kind of unsure about my thesis, or how I want to conduct it to be really effective.

·         My points that I have are that standardized tests can promote cheating, excessive testing, maybe something about how they are unfair towards non-whites and mental students. I guess another point I can have is that they are not effective at measuring student success and there should be another method used that will measure how well a teacher is teaching.

·         For my counter argument I think I am going to mention how since standardized tests were created they have been intended to measure students success, I would then use this time to say that there are better ways to measure student success (solution) because of cheating, discrimination, and …….(main points).

Thoughts on different parts of the essay:

INTRO:

Background info could be about when standardized tests were created, how often they are used in schools, what they are used for, and examples of standardized tests (SAT, ACT, CSAP). I would try to make it relevant and important for my reader’s attention. I cannot really think of major terminology that I would need to include in my essay for my audience, just because my audience is intended for people that are a part of the public school system and people who have children that are dealing with standardized tests currently. I might need to define more in depth what standardized tests are, but other than that, I do not think I need too. My thesis is where I am kind of stuck. I want to make sure it sounds really good and persuasive, but I am having a hard time getting it started.

Thesis attempt: Standardized tests have been known for a measurement of student success since they have been created, but in recent years controversy has struck with discrimination, cheating, and excessive testing.

For the controversy part of my intro I will explain that standardized test were originally created for measurement of student and teacher success, but now in recent years, the effects of standardized test be shown as detrimental for students education.

For my body paragraphs, I would use my first paragraph to explain the counter argument, explaining how it is known to be a measurement, and that is what student’s parents are expecting it to be. I would use this paragraph to build up to my next body paragraph which would be about how it can discriminate.

I would make a body paragraph about discrimination, then use evidence from my articles, and then explain why it is relevant. Then I would do this for my body paragraphs about cheating and excessive testing. Both providing evidence and explaining it.

Then, I would conclude my essay. I would SLIGHTLY restate the background info, controversy, and then lead into my claim and thesis about standardized tests.

I am not completely set on my main points, I might change it a little. Also I am not set on my articles. And I want more help on my thesis as well.

Argument Essay Claims

Heather Rankin
November 2, 2013

Argument Topic: My topic is standardized testing impact on public school education.
Claims-
Cause and Effect: If standardized tests are eliminated from public school education, there will not be a reliable way to measure student success.
Value: When public schools use standardized testing, they are not being morally correct.
Policy or Solution: Measuring student success without testing will take away test anxiety in public school students.
Fact or definition: Standardized tests are bias and discriminate against non-whites and disabled students.