Issues facing education in America stir crowd

What exactly is education? Is standardized testing good science? Are there practical alternatives? Those were the kinds of questions addressed by the Fall Symposium, “The State of Education in America,” which was moderated by Dr. Christan Amundson.

The symposium brought together a panel of professors and college administrators to discuss the issues affecting education in America and Texas in particular.

Overwhelmingly, the most popular topic of discussion by students and panelists was standardized testing. Several students commented on the effectiveness of standardized testing and voiced concerns about how the increasing focus on test performance was affecting education and students.

“Teachers no longer expect students to know the material — just to know answers for the test,” said Margaret Gordon, a sophomore majoring in special education. Gordon went on to voice concerns that “teaching to the test” was causing teachers to lose their passion for educating students, a viewpoint shared by Christina Nourisharghy, a history education major.

Students and panelists discussed several alternatives to standardized testing, such as portfolio evaluations of student work, or end-ofterm projects. In response, Rene Castilla, executive dean of educational partnerships and a former president of the Dallas Independent School District school board, claimed that alternative evaluation methods — while a good idea — weren't feasible because of the increased resources in money and manpower they would require.

Not all attending the symposium agreed on the issues facing education in America. James Van Loon, an instructor of psychology, believes the largest issue in education isn't standardized testing; it's an issue of politics. Specifically, Van Loon feels that education is suffering due to pressure to “adapt education to satisfy conservative values.” He illustrated the point by commenting that some areas no longer allowed Carl Jung's theories to be taught in class.

The symposium closed with final statements from panelists, including a warning to students from Sherry Boyd of proposed legislation in the Texas state senate which would increase tuition fees for a repeated course.

Amy Brocio, a government professor, got the final word in as students and faculty departed, saying “Don't be sheep and just be lead along by the media; get out and vote.”