Standardized Testing Essay -- Standardized Testing Essays

Standardized Testing President Bush is promoting annual standardized testing for all students in grades three through eight in order to assess their academic achievements. This bill is currently being considered in Congress, and has garnered much support from individuals in the community. As of right now, fifteen states test students in those grades, and more than twenty have high school exit exams. Exit exams look only at the test score of a student, not at his or her academic achievements throughout High School, and in many cases, people are either over- or underrepresented by their test scores. This occurs partly because America does not currently have the capabilities of fairly scoring the increasing number of tests, even though the companies creating and scoring the tests enjoy a large profit. The number of companies creating these tests is pitifully small. Adding to the lack of validity of the scores of these tests is the fact that many students today are not native English speakers, and their capabilities could be grossly underestimated by these types of exams, and there is a strong racial bias involved in most major tests. But, the biggest and most troubling problem with standardized testing is how it affects the learning that takes place in the classroom. This leads to the question of just how standardized we want our schools to be. Standardized tests are nothing but hurtful, and America should make a move away from them, especially since they are expensive and ineffective. We cannot expect to solve the problems in our educational system this way. We want our children to leave school with knowledge and understanding that will allow them to be successful. That is not currently the case. ... ...l only be a loose assessment of the criteria and not of the school, students or teachers, it would not be a major crisis if the tests were not representative of the students’ knowledge. That is a far more acceptable option than one of watching capable students being denied diplomas or college educations due to exams that they did poorly on. It is not in America’s best interest to pass the proposal to require standardized testing at elementary school levels, or to force students to pass exit exams to earn their diplomas. If we wish for our children to be informed, educated, and ready to survive on their own in the real world, we need to give them the tools that will get them there. These tests are not accurate, and they are detrimental to the education of children. There should be no debate over how our representatives in Congress should vote on this bill.

Resident Concerns Over Hazardous Waste Incinerator Environmental Sciences Essay

XYZ Company ( XYZ ) has proposed constructing a risky waste incineration works in the rural town of ABC, California. The dwellers of ABC are concerned about the possible wellness and environmental effects of holding XYZ in their community. The community members are concerned about noise, pollution, and environmental effects the new works will hold on their wellness. I am an Environmental Health Expert, and the local Health Officer has asked my sentiment on the proposed works as it pertains to zoning, province licenses, and nuisances to the community. Concerns Sing the Undertaking Zoning – is the procedure of land development within municipalities. It is a map of the metropolis authorities, and it dictates how available metropolis land is used. If the land is situated within the metropolis bounds so the land would hold to be zoned for commercial usage every bit good as risky wastes storage and devastation. If the proposed risky waste incinerator is on county or federal land there if nil the dwellers of the metropolis can make to halt the building based on districting Torahs ( Miniclier, 1991 ) , ( Smiley, 1989 ) . The metropolis would non hold legal power over county or federal land. Many times counties do non hold districting regulations that would forbid the edifice of an incineration works. Concerns – I would oppugn as to when the current districting Torahs became effectual, and are they adequate for the proposed undertaking. I would desire to guarantee that districting Torahs mitigated any jobs associated with extra commercial vehicles coming into the country. They would besides hold to turn to the storage and devastation of risky stuffs. This is a comparatively new scientific discipline, and the zoning Torahs that govern the current solid waste works are at least 20 old ages old. The districting Torahs that apply to the solid waste incinerator may non back up the development of a risky waste works. A reappraisal of the Torahs should be executed to find if the new works could lawfully be situated on the proposed site. Permits – There are a overplus of licenses that this undertaking would necessitate. First, and first, risky waste installations must run into the guidelines established by the Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) , in 40 C.F.R, Part 264, with supplemented EPA proficient and permit counsel ( Environment Technology Council ) . The province has many of its ain ordinances sing risky waste installations as good. There are building, technology, and land development permits that must be obtained before building can get down. Inspectors from both federal and province authoritiess oversee each measure of the building procedure. After building is completed so a proving stage will get down with a conditional license. The EPA ensures the consequences from each test burn are within acceptable parametric quantities. If all the needed criterions are met a lasting license will be issued. Although the concluding license is considered lasting, the license can be pulled if the works fails to keep safety criterions as established by the EPA. Concerns – A reappraisal of all licenses sing air quality, emanations, traffic suspension, environmental impact, etc, is to take topographic point. These paperss need to be shared with the community to educate them on the permitting procedure, and increase their cognition of how the edifice of the incinerator will come on through the regulative system. This will prosecute the community stakeholders in the building procedure. I would promote that the Health Officer reappraisal and go familiar with the article â€Å" Monitoring PCDD/Fs in Soil and Herbage Samples Collected Near a Hazardous Waste Incinerator: Health Risks for the Population Living Nearby, † by Montse Mari et Al. This article chronicles the emanations of a risky waste incinerator in Spain over a six twelvemonth period, the consequences of which show â€Å" the HWI did non significantly increase PCDD/F degrees in dirts and pasturage of the environing environment. Furthermore, PCDD/F emanations from the HWI do non intend extra important hazards for the wellness of the persons populating in the locality of the installation. † ( Montse Mari, 2007 ) Waste installations that are suitably permitted and monitored show negligible impact to the community and countryside around them. These facts should relieve some of the frights of the community. Nuisance – Three countries likely to bring forth nuisance ailments will be in respects to odor, traffic and noise. As antecedently discussed, the issue of traffic suspension should hold been addressed in the zoning procedure. Safe hauling paths need to be identified that would besiege most of the common roadways used by the dwellers of ABC, thereby relieving traffic congestion issues. Odor will be a bigger job. Prior to the works being built the site will be analyzed for air current flow forms. The intent of the analysis will be to guarantee that residuary stuff left in the vapour fumes can pay out without negatively impacting the environing countryside, metropolis, or farming area ( Rogers & A ; Willis, 1992 ) . That trial does non take into history olfactory property. The bringing trucks and their lading will bring forth olfactory property. Wind does non blow in one way all the clip ; it flows and moves as influenced by rain, fog, or sunlight. The olfactory property from the works operations can non be contained and funneled in a individual way, therefore it is much more likely to be a nuisance to the community. Odor suspension is necessary to guarantee the success of the undertaking. Noise will be a concern for the life of this undertaking. Site development, building, and bringing of stuffs will all increase the noise pollution around the works. Addressing the noise pollution concerns prior to building will be indispensable ( Noise pollution, 1993 ) . Failure to program for noise concerns could endanger the effectivity of the site should regulations be enacted the restrict noise degrees to those below the sum that is emitted by the works in its normal operations. Concerns – Discussions with the community members and undertaking builders sing these nuisance issues has non taken topographic point. Opening duologue between these groups may help in relieving ailments in the hereafter.Risk Management PrinciplesThe Commission on Risk Assessment and Risk Management ‘s â€Å" Principles for Risk Management Decision Making † recommends the undermentioned six stairss be portion of any hazard determination procedure: â€Å" Good hazard direction determination: Addresses a clearly articulated job in its public wellness and ecological context. Elicits the positions of those affected by the determination. Is based on a careful consideration of scientific grounds that supports the decisions about the possible hazards to human wellness and the ecosystem. Is made after sing a scope of hazard direction options. Gives precedence to forestalling hazards, non merely commanding them. Are sensitive to political, societal, legal, and cultural considerations. † ( TUI University, 2010 ) It does non look from this scenario that the Health Officer, builders, or metropolis contrivers engaged any of these rules. They are holding community recoil jobs because these stairss were ignored from the beginning of the undertaking. In fact, the Health Officer, himself, is holding concerns which could hold been alleviated had this procedure been employed. Having a risky waste installation in 1s ‘ vicinity is traveling to politicise the community. If the community had concerns sing the safety of the current garbage dump, how much more will they have with a risky waste installation coming into the country? The Health Officer, every bit good as the builders, would be wise to take a page from history and non except the abodes from treatments about this proposed works. Kings County, in Central California, failed to prosecute the Hispanic population when they were suggesting a risky waste enlargement to the solid waste shit installation, and it earned them a Civil Rights case, which the county lost ( Kay, 1992 ) .DecisionThe Health Officer should step in in the permitting procedure and temporarily halt this undertaking traveling frontward. A hazard appraisal of the undertaking needs to be completed following the â€Å" Principles for Risk Management Decision Making † ( TUI University, 2010 ) . Scientific grounds profiling how d ecently permitted and regulated workss can hold negligible effects on the environment needs to be shared with the community. A thorough reappraisal of all districting Torahs and proposed traffic paths need to be studied to guarantee that the extra traffic will non impact the occupants of the community. Measures to relieve the olfactory properties from the new works demand to be exhaustively researched and shared with the stakeholders. The Health Officer and developers must link with the community stakeholders if they want this to be a successful undertaking.

How Teachers Can Create a Great Lesson Students Love

The best teachers can captivate their students’ attention day in and day out. Their students not only enjoy being in their class, but they look forward to the next day’s lesson because they want to see what is going to happen. Creating a great lesson together takes a lot of creativity, time, and effort. It is something that is well thought out with lots of planning. Though each lesson is unique, they all have similar components that make them exceptional. Every teacher has the ability to create engaging lessons that will mesmerize their students and keep them wanting to come back for more. A great lesson engages every student, ensures that every student is meeting the learning objectives, and motivates even the most reluctant learner. Characteristics of a Great Lesson A great lesson...is well planned. Planning starts with a simple idea and then slowly evolves into a tremendous lesson that will resonate with every student. A terrific plan ensures that all materials are ready to go before the lesson begins, is anticipatory of potential issues or problems, and takes advantage of opportunities to extend the lesson beyond its core concepts. Planning a great lesson takes time and effort. Careful planning gives each lesson a better chance to be a hit, to captivate each student, and to provide your students with meaningful learning opportunities. A great lesson†¦grabs students’ attention. The first few minutes of a lesson may be the most critical. Students will quickly decide whether or not they should devote their full attention to what is being taught. Every lesson should have a â€Å"hook† or â€Å"attention grabber† built into the first five minutes of the lesson. Attention grabbers come in many forms including demonstrations, skits, videos, jokes, songs, etc. Be willing to embarrass yourself a little bit if it will motivate your students to learn. Ultimately, you want to create an entire lesson that is memorable, but failing to grab their attention early on will likely keep that from happening. A great lesson†¦maintains students’ attention. Lessons should be outrageous and unpredictable throughout captivating each student’s attention. They should be fast-paced, loaded with quality content, and engaging. Time in class should fly by so quickly that you hear students grumbling when the class period is over each day. You should never see students drifting off to sleep, engaged in conversation about other topics, or expressing general disinterest in a lesson. As the teacher, your approach to every lesson must be passionate and enthusiastic. You must be willing to be a salesman, comedian, content expert, and magician all rolled into one. A great lesson†¦builds on previously learned concepts. There is a flow from one standard to the next. The teacher ties previously learned concepts into each lesson. This shows the students that various concepts are meaningful and connected. It is a natural progression of old into new. Each lesson increases in rigor and difficulty without losing students along the way. Each new lesson should be focused on extending learning from the previous day. By the end of the year, students should be able to make connections quickly as to how your first lesson ties into your last lesson. A great lesson  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦is content driven. It has to have a connected purpose, meaning that all aspects of the lesson are built around critical concepts that students at a particular age should be learning. Content is typically driven by standards such as the Common Core State Standards that serve as a guide for what students are supposed to learn in each grade. A lesson that does not have relevant, meaningful content at its core is senseless and a waste of time. Effective teachers are able to build upon the content from lesson to lesson continuously throughout the year. They take a simple concept early on continuing to build upon it until it becomes something complex yet understood by their students because of the process. A great lesson†¦ establishes real-life connections. Everyone loves a good story. The best teachers are those who can incorporate vivid stories that tie in key concepts within the lesson helping students to make connections to real life. New concepts are typically abstract to students of any age. They rarely see how it is applicable to real life. A great story can make these real-life connections and often helps students remember concepts because they remember the story. Some subjects are easier to make these connections than others, but a creative teacher can find an interesting backstory to share on just about any concept. A great lesson†¦provides students with active learning opportunities. A majority of students are kinesthetic learners. They simply learn best when they are actively engaged in hands-on learning activities. Active learning is fun. Students not only have fun through hands-on learning, they often retain more information from this process. Students do not have to be active throughout an entire lesson, but having active components mixed in sporadically at appropriate times throughout the lesson will keep them interested and engaged. A great lesson†¦Ã¢â‚¬â€¹builds critical thinking skills. Students must develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills at an early age. If these skills are not developed early on, they will be almost impossible to acquire later on. Older students who have not been taught this skill may become discouraged and frustrated. Students must be taught to extend their answers beyond the ability to provide the correct answer alone. They also should develop the ability to explain how they arrived at that answer. Each lesson should have at least one critical thinking activity built into it forcing students to go beyond the typically straightforward answer. A great lesson†¦is talked about and remembered. It takes time, but the best teachers build a legacy. Students coming up look forward to being in their class. They hear all the crazy stories and cannot wait to experience it themselves. The hard part for the teacher is living up to those expectations. You have to bring your â€Å"A† game every single day, and this can become a challenge. Creating enough great lessons for each day is exhausting. It is not impossible; it just takes a lot of extra effort. Ultimately it is worth it when your students consistently perform well and even more importantly express how much they learned by being in your class. A great lesson†¦is continuously tweaked. It is always evolving. Good teachers are never satisfied. They understand that everything can be improved. They approach each lesson as an experiment, soliciting feedback from their students both directly and indirectly. They look at nonverbal cues such as body language. They look at overall engagement and participation. They look at diagnostic feedback to determine if students are retaining the concepts introduced in the lesson. Teachers use this feedback as a guide to what aspects should be tweaked and each year they make adjustments and then conduct the experiment again.