ELC501 ENGLISH FOR CRITICAL ACEDEMIC READING ARTICLE ANALYSIS
Faculty of Busi!ss Maa"!#!t BM$%1&%N
C!'(!a Na'i! )* A+a" ,$01--./01- Ati(a Biti A2'ul )a2a( ,$01--./1%/
The author of Bless The Tests: Tests: Three Reasons Reasons for Standardized Standardized Testing Testing,, Aaron Churchill’s main idea is that testing should be standard as he suggest the importance of it in his his artic article. le. The The crit critici icism sm with with ARCC, RCC, !hio !hio’’s new new "ngl "nglish ish and and #ath #ath assessment for grades and high school has made the author to emphasize, from his point of $iew, the main reasons for his stand, which are ob%ecti$e, comparati$e and accountabilit&, all referring to the teachers, the school and the parents themsel$es. The author’s argument is that the standardized tests is essential and should be practiced b& schools and an& learning institutions. #ostl& throughout the article, the author stands in a biased position position as he fa$ours the implementat implementation ion of standard standard tests b& constantl& constantl& highlighting the merit of it. Thus, ma'ing the argument incomplete because the author did not e(plain more of the benefits of ha$ing non)standardized test or the cons of standardized test.
*rom the article, the author’s purpose was to persuade the audience to accept and support the implementation of standardized testing. +e did this b& e(plaining the reasons testing should be standard to all student. *rom the three stated reasons, the first was to ma'e sure the teacher gi$e honest and unbiased mar'ing according to what what studen students ts deser$ deser$ee and not influe influence nced d b& an& other factor factor.. Besides Besides that, that, he assumed that a clear s&stem of standardized e(am gi$e comparable results, whereb&, he strongl strongl& & disagr disagrees ees that that schools schools select select their their own assessm assessment ent)) a pic')& pic')&our our)ow )own) n) assessment polic&. +e belie$es that onl& with a standardized test, the performance of students across the countr& can be measured based on result benchmar'. ast but not least, the author is sure that standardized standardized e(am data will remain the best wa& to hold schools accountable for academic performance.
Also, Also, the articl articlee also possess possess self)rig self)righte hteous ous tone, tone, in which which the author author full& full& belie$es that his argument is tiptop and cannot be countered in an& wa& wa &. -ot to forget that the tone he uses is also e$asi$e, in which he is not gi$ing a direct elaboration with clear supports. The author’s intended group which he wants to tac'le is a particular group. Since the author would li'e to share the 'nowledge in$ol$ing e(ams and academic performance, the audience would most li'el& be members of the education board, teachers, parents and students themsel$es. "$en the words used relates to education which means the readers are those interested in education and academic.
+e assumes that standardized test can measure students’ performance in an eual and fair manner. +is argument is not ob%ecti$e as he did not base his points on facts and other pertinent e$idence. /t is also an incomplete argument because the author did not address the cons of ha$ing standardized test, also not mentioning an& pros of ha$ing zero standardized test. +owe$er, his argument is $alid because it poses a logical reasoning.
Auth Author’ or’ss argu argume ment nt has has no stron strong g supp suppor ort. t. *or *or all all his his poin points ts:: ob%ec ob%ecti ti$i $it& t&,, comparabilit& and accountabilit&, he onl& stress on it without gi$ing a definite fact, researc research h findin findings, gs, and person personal al e(peri e(perienc ences. es. The The author author,, Aaron Aaron Church Churchill ill,, is a Research 0irector of Thomas B. *ordham /nstitute, who assist the school in ensuring that the school’s strategic and operational plans for research and 'nowledge e(change are achie$ed. This means that he is an e(pert in this issue, therefore his opinion will matter and is $aluable. +owe$er, the o$erall ualit& of his support is still not strong enough enough as the author states is according according to his assumptions assumptions and not based on a stud& or real research.
Based on the article, we come to conclude that there will be a lot more goodness de$eloped in the future if the polic&ma'ers decide to impro$e the integrit& of the state’s standardized test. This will be helpful to students, teachers, school authorities and parents as well. *or this, we agree with all the reasons how standardizing the tests will gi$e students the opportunit& to be more aware of their abilities and potential is acceptable.
