The effects that standardized tests have on america's students Research Paper

The effects that standardized tests have on america's students - Research Paper Example Consequently, many people and various organizations have used the term for a long time to advocate for as well as champion for their rights, thereby making the word very powerful. For instance, various women’s suffrage, Civil Rights movements, among others have fought for equality for the human race no matter black or white, male or female, rich or poor just to mention a few. In America, the standards – based educational reform introduced the standardized tests in order to raise America’s standard of achievement in the education sector. This has been part of American education system from the 1800s and its use increased in 2002 after enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) that mandated yearly testing within the 50 states (McMeans 5). According to James Popham, former president of the American Educational Research Association, standardized tests refers to tests administered, scored, and later interpreted in a predetermined and standard manner (Higgins 12 ). The policy accorded high priority student performance with the aim of increasing student and school performance, thereby preparing American students to compete favorably for opportunities on the international stage. Proponents argue that standardized tests entail a fair as well as objective means of examining student achievement (Phelps 23). This makes schools and teachers more accountable to the taxpayers who are the parents. Therefore, standardized tests promote equality among students ensuring that all Americans pass a given tests in order to move to the next level. Despite the support and recognition given to standardized tests and the equality, it proves ambiguous since logically it is unattainable on earth. This is because when it is pursued beyond excellence or freedom, it can turn out to be very dangerous (Stahlman 242). The dangers of championing for equality beyond excellence are displayed in the story â€Å"Harrison Bergeron†, written by Kurt Vonnegut. However, opponents of standardized tests claim that the tests are neither objective nor fair and that their use encourages a narrow curriculum as well as drill like teaching to the test situation (Visone & EdD 95). Moreover, the tests compromise the ability of America to produce critical thinkers and innovators. Vonnegut in his story â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† clearly dwells on the theme of the dangers of total equity. He asserts that absolute equality is not a perfect and worth striving for by human beings (Dougherty 176). This is because it is a misguided goal that proves dangerous both in the execution and in its outcome. Therefore, the search for equality above excellence or freedom is very dangerous. This is because application of equality in some situations and in areas that it cannot and should not exist might restrict excellence as well as liberty (Harris, Bruce & Harris 56). This is because in life human beings are not equal in some things and will never be. According to Abraha m Lincoln’s speech during the Declaration of Independence, people are not equal in size, colour, moral development, intellect, as well as social capacity (Crossley 2). Therefore, the fact remains that human beings are different in various things, in both physical and mental realms, and thus it is impossible to achieve total equality. Thus, just like in the Vonnegut’s story, standardized tests promote absolute equality. This is dangerous due to several

Explain the ways in which a subgenre of jazz (e.g. swing, bebop) was a Essay

Explain the ways in which a subgenre of jazz (e.g. swing, bebop) was a rejection or a continuation of the styles that preceded i - Essay Example This paper would attempt to answer this question by taking into consideration the historical development of hard bop and funk in relation to the overall history of jazz, as well as into the specific cultural context where these styles developed. In this case, this paper would first look into the different historical, social and cultural contexts in the development of hard bop, which was an earlier development than funk (Wynn 1994). In this part of the paper, the researcher would try to look into the different musical styles that hard bop adopted, and would describe the ways on how this style rejected or continued earlier styles. The next part of the paper would then tackle the historical, social and cultural contexts in relation with the development of funk, which appeared in the early 1970’s (allmusic.com n.d.). In this part of the paper, the researcher would try to look into the different musical influences and inspirations that led top the development of this jazz style, an d would likewise describe the ways on how this style rejected or continued earlier styles. The next part of the paper would then tackle the historical, social and cultural contexts in relation with the development of funk, which appeared in the early 1970’s (allmusic.com n.d.). In this part of the paper, the researcher would try to look into the different musical influences and inspirations that led top the development of this jazz style, and would likewise describe the ways on how this style rejected or continued earlier styles. The last part of the paper would then formulate a conclusion on whether both hard bop and funk represented a major break in style, or was it merely a continuation, given the cultural and historical development of jazz music in that specific period. The Development of Hard Bop One of the main styles of jazz played in the early half of the 20th century was hard bop. According to Gridley (Wynn 1994, p. 11-12), the term â€Å"hard bop† was actuall y first used in the early 1950’s. Before the development of hard bop, in the early 1940’s, the most popular style of jazz that was played was bebop, also known as bop music (Berendt 1981). Simply put, bebop was known as the type of jazz that actually strived to make it more of an artful music, especially by fusing into jazz new types of chromatics and dissonance (Berendt 1981). In this case, some jazz historians actually claim that hard bop was partially inspired by bebop, or is actually an extension of it, due to the fact that this style also incorporated the dissonance styles of bop music, and that hard bop also tried to make jazz more as an artful music, rather than a popular jazz music as it was in the earlier part of the twentieth century (Wynn, 1994). However, despite these influences, hard bop also had its own characterizations. In the development of its unique style, hard bop incorporated several musical influences, which included rhythm and blues, and even gos pel music (Wynn, 1994). In this case, some of the elements of rhythm and blues and gospel music were actually incorporated into jazz music, which was natural at that time (Rosenthal 1992). According to Rosenthal (1992), in the early 1940’s, rhythm and blues, along with bop, were actually two of the most dominant forces in black music. In this case, Rosenthal further argues that jazz musicians who were to develop the unique style of hard bop also grew up in a time when rhythm and blues, as well as bop music, were popular; in this case, it is natural for them to integrate these styles into the development of hard bop. In the years preceding the development of hard bop, one of the most popular musicians at that time was Tadd Dameron, and he was actually known to have worked with both bop music and rhythm and blues; this historical and

The Diamond Necklace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

The Diamond Necklace - Essay Example Even though she lives in their humble home she desperately longs for a rich life. One day her husband, Loisel, gets an invitation to a ball. Mathilde pleads and manages to get her husband to part with the money he had been saving for himself and buys a dress for her to wear to the ball. She is still not satisfied and complains that she does not have any ornaments to wear that would go well with the dress. Acting upon her husband’s suggestion she goes to her friend Madame Forestier and borrows a beautiful necklace from her. Mathilde feels happy throughout the evening and for once in her life feels at par with the ladies that she had been envious of ever since she could remember. However she finds out after reaching home after the ball that the necklace was missing. Both husband and wife search high and low but can’t find the ornament. They decide to replace it with another necklace. They borrow money from many sources and even use up the money that Loisel’s father had left him and buy the necklace for a huge sum, and return it to Madame Forestier without letting her know what actually happened. A ten year period of extreme hardship follows as they repay the debt that they incurred to buy the necklace. By the end of that difficult period Mathilde comes across Madame Forestier and confesses all that happened. Madame Forestier then reveals that the original necklace Mathilde had borrowed was a clever imitation and worth only a few hundred francs. One can’t help but feel sorry for Mathilde. She had been yearning all her life to be a part of the elite. The one evening that happened proved to be too expensive and deprived her of her peace of mind for ten long years. Even though the story has the moral that one has to be happy with what one has and the greed leads to eventual destruction. The plight that Mathilde went through could have been avoided if she had dealt with the situation in a different manner. As soon as she found out that the necklace was

Criminal and Civil Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Criminal and Civil Justice - Essay Example al rule regarding admissibility is set out in the case of R v Leathem1, which provides that the manner of obtaining evidence does not exclude admissibility. The test of admissibility is whether the evidence is relevant. However, whilst there is there is no rule of exclusion per se, it is open to the court to exercise its discretion under Section 78 of PACE. The main ground for challenging the admissibility of Jack’s statement under Section 78 will be â€Å"the circumstances in which the evidence was obtained†. This is further supported by the decision in Matto v Wolverhampton Crown Court.2 Furthermore, breaches of the PACE accompanying Codes of Practice can also require the section 78 discretion to be used if such breaches are significant and substantial3. Under section 58 of PACE and paragraph 11.2 of Code C, detainees must be told of their right to legal advice. Jack was denied the right to legal advice. Whilst assault is a serious arrestable offence and section 116 of PACE permits delay of access to legal advice up to 36 hours, in order to rely on section 116, the police have to prove that they reasonably feared one of the contingencies referred to in section 58 (8) of PACE arising. However, it does not appear that these were applicable to justify the delay of legal advice to Jack. Whilst a wrongful delay in obtaining legal advice will not render automatic exclusion of evidence under section 78, in the case of R v Alladice4, the Court of Appeal stressed that relevant factors under section 78 were whether the police acted in bad faith and whether the presence of a solicitor would have made a difference to the defendant. The restriction and denial of legal advice is in breach of Code C section 6.5 and reflects adversely on the fairness of the proceedings. On this basis there are strong grounds to exclude Jack’s statement. With regard to Jack’s statement regarding Edward’s culpability for the offence, under the common law, as established in R v

Summary Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Summary - Coursework Example This being said, Day and Schoemaker (2005) develop a strategic eye exam that will help managers to examine the most problematic strategic areas. First, the authors recommend defining the scope of the company’s peripheral vision. Neither too much nor too little peripheral vision is good for the company: those with too much peripheral vision can end up being too neurotic to deal with change. Second, Day and Schoemaker (2005) proceed to the questions every manager should ask while analyzing companies’ peripheral vision: these questions relate to companies’ past and present, as well as future prospects and ideas. Finally, the authors suggest that the peripheral vision of any company can be strengthened. The article can readily serve the source of valuable advice in the development of useful peripheral vision and thinking within organizations. Day, GS & Schoemaker, PH 2005, ‘Scanning the periphery’, Harvard Business Review, November, pp.135-148. Are You S ure You Have a Strategy? Strategy is a buzzword in contemporary organization studies, but few organizations have a clear understanding of what strategy really means: in this article, Hambrick and Fredrickson (2005) develop a framework for strategy design that includes five basic elements. According to Hambrick and Fredrickson (2005), researchers have developed abundance of various strategic analysis frameworks, but all these frameworks ignore the fundamental question of what strategy is and how it works. As a result, it is not clear how these strategic frameworks should be applied and how they can benefit organizations. In this situation, strategic managers and business owners create confusion and reduce their professional credibility (Hambrick & Fredrickson 2005). This is why the authors of this article propose their vision of strategy and its elements. Based on the article, the main elements of strategy include Arenas, Vehicles, Differentiators, Staging, and Economic Logic. For ea ch element, Hambrick and Fredrickson (2005) provide a question every company should ask in the process of formulating its strategy. For example, in terms of the Arenas element, executives should first decide where exactly, in what arenas, their business will operate (Hambrick & Fredrickson 2005). The substance of any strategy is made of arenas, vehicles, and differentiators, which also require that executives define the main stages of strategy implementation and develop a clear idea of how exactly they want to generate profits (Hambrick & Fredrickson 2005). To support their claims, the authors provide a number of case studies. These case studies illustrate the strengths of the proposed strategy framework. Finally, Hambrick and Fredrickson (2005) conclude that strategy is not about planning but about informed and well-integrated choices and the proposed framework can well serve the basis for the development of the major strategic initiatives. Hambrick, DC & Fredrickson, JW 2005, â₠¬ËœAre you sure you have a strategy?’, Academy of Management Executive, vol.19, no.4, pp.51-62. The Irrational Side of Change Management In this article, the authors identify and discuss nine insights into the way human nature becomes a barrier to implementing the four conditions of behavioral change and fostering positive organizational shifts. Also, the authors show how different companies have succeeded in overcoming these obstacles,

Buyer Behaviour Academic Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Buyer Behaviour Academic Paper - Essay Example Manual efforts have been considerably reduced in mathematical calculations, analysis and interpretations of data because of computer and internet. Most of the companies have redefined their organizational strategies in order to accommodate and make use of the internet technologies. Organizational principles need to be restructured in order to exploit the possibilities of computers and internet. For example, the core function like marketing needs to be revised in order to target the online consumers. Consumer trends also have undergone rapid changes because of internet. Internet and its influence on consumers irrespective of children or elder people forced organizations to formulate custom made strategies for the internet users. The main advantage of internet is that the marketers can prepare custom made marketing strategies for internet users by sending customised e-mails. This paper analyses the importance of online technologies and online environment for influencing buyer behaviours based on some preliminary and secondary data collected through interviews and other sources of references. Apart from real life on real world, most of the people have a secondary life on a virtual world mainly around the computers and internet. Majority of the human population may not be satisfied with their real world experiences. The life which they dreamed of may not be possible for them because of so many constraints in the family and the society. Such people can fulfil their dream up to certain extent using the online environment. Online environment and the anonymity offered by it provide the people to release their hidden stresses and desires to other communities. A real friend in real life is a dream for most of the people because of the changing moral and ethical concepts of life. Even husband and wife may not share all of their suppressed desires between them because of the lack of trust between them. Recently I have watched an Indian movie

When and Why to Think about Retirement and Estate Planning Essay

When and Why to Think about Retirement and Estate Planning - Essay Example As soon as an individual gets work and immediately they are through paying off their student’s loans, then retirement kitty should be the next important investment they start to make to avoid re-entering the workforce once they have retired because they have no savings to see them through their old-age period. Action should also be taken immediately because of the uncertainty of the future and what may happen to an individual’s job and hence the retirement saving’s may come in handy in case of early and forced retirement or in case of a disability. According to Blue and White in their book, retirement is in phases and the most successful of retirements comes with early thoughts and action towards accumulation phase (Blue and White, 2008). I have already started making plans for my retirement to avoid stresses in my retirement years of having to burden my family to take care of me or having to start depending on the little social security funds or even start looking for work when am already retired. Everyone should think of retirement because it is never too early to start having a retirement kitty or to start planning one’s estate (Gitman, et al.