Filling in Circles

Since i am able to write about anything i really want to rant about and also since ive already wrote about my past, my family and last but not least some of my deepest thoughts. Ive decided to rant about an issue i feel strongly about. Which is multiple choice testing...
Although highschool has provided me with many educational opportunities and has taught me an incredible amount. I feel very strongly about the testing not only in my highschool, but the whole school system in America at whole! I personally believe, that critical thinking is often cast aside and that what is focused on now is how to fill in circles on a scantron. Our education should not be like a coloring book. I would like to draw outside the lines please and actually show teachers what i really know. Multiple-choice testing does not allow us to fully use our brain. It is easy to get multiple-choice questions correct without knowing much or doing any real thinking. Open-ended questions however force the student to remember information on their own, not only allowing them to have a better grasp on the material they are studying, but also enabling them to have a better chance at remembering that information in the future. They not only benefit the student, but the teacher as well. While while multiple-choice makes it difficult for a teacher to detect whether the student actually knows the material or just took a good guess, open-ended questions help the teacher pinpoint exactly where the student is struggling. Not to mention multiple choice tests are easy for students to cheat on. All they have to do is look over and see what order the dots are in, while open-ended test are basically impossible to cheat on. bllaaaahh! this rant doesn't really apply to AP Lit, but this is an issue that i see in almost all my other classes. Although I am fully for having an easier time getting good grades in highschool, Ive realized that if i am spending six hours, five days a week, at school; i might as well learn something that i will remember in the future and not just forget over the summer.

End of Rant