How tests are not the way to measure a student's understanding

     Students are not put in schools and the education systems to take tests, but to learn.  When students of all ages complain of tests they are required to take to pass a grade level; they aren't wrong.  What students are being tested on today is knowledge which instead they should be taught on skill.  Having students complete tests on knowledge instead of skill is hindering our student's ability to want to thrive in school.  

     Take this into account, when students of the future are put into the workplace to complete a task, which will help them more, knowledge or skill?  How students are being tested in schools today are about their knowledge when instead skill is what brings the real understanding of what a student is aware and capable of it.  Knowledge does not stick around for long, especially when in school students are usually taught six subjects and fifteen or more units per a subject.  Skill can stay forever because when a student is brought a task to complete, their skill will depend on how well they can complete it and unlike knowledge which tells them how to complete it.  It never teaches them how to do well and understand it.    

     The way to fix this is either do away with tests or start testing students on skill.  If it is chosen that students should be tested on skill, then students should be taught skill and petite to no knowledge because if tests are most important for students, then skill is all that is needed.  If the test is not what is important, then knowledge can be implemented into a student's learning as well.  The psychology behind this will help students out a great deal. When growing adolescents are always pushing themselves to learn knowledge for tests and not learning a skill, so everything comes with their skill, then actually they are slowly putting pressure on themselves to know something for assignments that will slip their mind and will have no good impact on their learning.  In the book Essentials of Educational Psychology, it says “Having students put lots of effort on memorizing something that won't stick with them can stop them from an understanding of that that subject when tested on it.” (Essentials of Educational Psychology, 2009)   

     The psychological intent on students of today from tests is negative, and instead of helping them understand where they are in their learning,  it is hindering them.  Bringing less stress to students so they can have more time to learn is a prominent goal for the educational system.  Although, having students make themselves learn something that will soon become forgotten seems pointless.  Creating less and fewer tests on students looks the way to make students have less stress in their learning process in school, but if test on skill is given, it can become almost evenly effective. 

Ormrod, Jeanne Ellis. Essentials of Educational Psychology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall, 2006. Print.