Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing
“The SAT is such a beautiful test.”
Andrew McGlothlin’s father was a terrible student. The only classes he excelled in were chemistry and auto shop. Living in other countries of the world, Andrew believes, his father would’ve been a mechanic his whole life. In the US, however, he got into a university and majored in chemistry.
That’s why Andrew doesn’t believe that standardized testing is a problem in education. In fact, he believes that standardized tests are far more effective at helping minority kids than helping kids from a privileged background.
And this is the reason Andrew is so passionate about helping children excel at standardized test.
Andrew is a father of 4 kids, an actor and an inspiring tutor based in LA.
He started working as a tutor back in 2001. He began his career at The Princeton Review and that’s where he found his calling. Coming from a family of educators, tutoring felt natural to him. Today, he teaches and inspires students’ learning at his own company Summit Tutoring & Test Prep. Like Lebron James, he is a proud native of Akron, Ohio and a graduate of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School.
In his work, he realized why testing can be so hard for kids. Kids trust the test. However, the test’s job is different than kids believe. Andrew’s job is it to help his students figure out what the test really wants and how they can be confident in their own thinking and answers.
This skill can be taught to most kids – no matter their socioeconomic background.
In this conversation, Andrew discusses the difference between the US and other countries around the world when it comes to access and giving everybody a shot. He also talks about why we are failing the average kid, what social promotion is all about,
and, he shares his theories on college vs. vocational school and debt vs. experience.
Please feel free to comment below and let us know your own experiences with standardized testing.
