Running Head: TEST SCORES 1

Test Scores and Their Efficacy

Laurie Padilla

University of Texas at El Paso

Professor LaPadre

RWS 1302: Rhetoric and Composition 2

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TEST SCORES AND THEIR EFFICACY

In todays American schools, it is no longer enough to measure a students

understanding of a subject through class assignments and regularly assigned homework.

Today, a students success, and that of a school, is measured by how well they fare on

standardized testing. Standardized testing has become increasingly much more difficult;

and has garnered much more importance than a students ability to understand and

learn at their own pace. American schools have become about testing and receiving the

best scores. Schools have warranted unsolicited attention and scrutiny for perfect

standardized test scores. This issue is being addressed by two genres that are in favor of

efforts to make the shift from teaching for test scores to teaching for understanding and

knowledge. Lyndsey Laytons article Study says standardized testing is overwhelming

nations public schools, explains the negative effects of extensive testing and the

TedTalk video from Sal Khan, Lets teach for mastery not test scores, highlights the

importance of teaching for understanding, rather than for test scores. These two distinct

genres of communication an article and a video are analyzed based on their

audience and purpose, rhetorical issues, structure, and style and language.

The first genre, an online article by Lindsey Layton, appeared in the Washington

Post on October 24, 2015. Laytons target audience is parents of students, teachers, and

other academic professionals, ranging from elementary schools to high schools. The

discourse communities could be considered parents of students and teachers who feel

that too much testing is not ideal for students. The second genre, a TedTalk video, from

Sal Khan, was published November of 2015. Khans target audience consists of parents

of students, school administration, and students, both traditional and nontraditional.

The Purpose of Laytons article is to inform, as well as persuade. She informs the
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audience about the extensive testing students undergo; the article also informs the

audience about the effects of extensive testing. The way the article is written persuades

the audience that too much testing in school can lead to adverse effects. The article is

attempting to persuade the audience to reject or object to extensive testing in schools.

She assumes that audience already knows that schools require too much testing, that

can lead to negative impacts on the students. Similarly, the purpose of Khans video is to

inform, persuade, and entertain. Khan uses his video to persuade the audience that

teaching should not be done to achieve the highest test scores; rather the point of

teaching should be to educate and allow the student the opportunity to obtain a clear

understanding of the material.

Laytons audience wants to know how school administration and teachers plan to

combat so much testing. The audience also wants to know why too much testing

produces negative results. Khans audience, on the other hand, might already know that

schools often teach for perfection to earn the highest test scores. Thus, the audience

wants to know what to teach for instead of perfection, they also want to know why

teaching for understanding of a topic, or mastery as expressed by Khan, is better.

The amount of time that the respective audiences will spend on each genre

differs. Although Laytons audience is assumed to be fairly educated, it could be said

that with a typographical genre, the audience may have to spend more time reading and

rereading the information to get a full understanding of the information. However, it

could also be the case that the audience prefers to simply skim the article, rather than

spend time trying to obtain a thorough understanding of the information. Because the

iconographic genre is 10 minutes long, Khans audience will most likely watch the video

either once or twice to understand what the speaker is trying to say. The audience may
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then refer to the video to take important concepts and apply them to real-life situations.

To connect with the respective audiences, both genres utilize specialized

vocabulary. Laytons language is quite formal. The language used throughout the article

is professional, planned, and the ideas are well organized. The vocabulary used may be

exclusive to parents of students and teachers, such as government-mandated school

policies and programs and vocabulary describing testing. She also uses a table

organizing grade levels, time spent testing, and the number of tests taken by the

students. At the beginning of the article, there is a picture of a young student working on

a math assignment. Text, type, and font appear to be standard; and there is minimal

color usage. These features keep in-tact with the formal and professional language used

throughout the article. Khan takes a very different approach on the subject matter. The

language does appear to be planned, however, it is not entirely formal. Specialized

vocabulary is scarce in this video; the language Khan uses is more common, enabling a

larger audience to understand the information. This genre is a video, so it is a visual.

Khan does not use any visual aids to get his message across.

The overall structure of Laytons article begins by providing brief insight into how

standardized testing has become more prevalent in recent years. The article then jumps

into providing data on the amount of time and number of tests each grade level spends

on standardized testing. Finally, the article discusses ways in which such standardized

testing is being combatted. Khan begins his video by providing a personal story about

his own learning experience. He then goes on to provide other examples of learning

experiences that support his main ideas. Laytons genre allows the necessary

information to be delivered in a manner that will grab the attention of the intended

audience. Keeping the target audience in mind, there does not appear to be any
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limitations on the information because of the genre. The structure of the article does

well in facilitating the purpose of the article. The structure of Laytons article is in

keeping with the formal language and specialized vocabulary of the article.

Conversely, Khans video does have a few limitations regarding the information

delivered. Because it is a speaker presentation, Khan does not use data, as in the

previous genre; he relies heavily on his testimony and his use of Pathos. The way the

video is executed does allow him more freedom in how he expresses and conveys his

message. While the genre does not refer to factual data, the structure of the genre does

well to facilitate its purpose that is to persuade, inform, and entertain the audience.

Because the genre allows for informal language, Khan is better able to connect and

resonate with his audience.

Layton uses logos to establish credibility with her audience. For instance, she

uses facts and data to appeal to the logic of the audience. Layton organizes the

information in a way that persuades and informs the audience of the purpose by

appealing to reason. She uses the evidence of data directly taken from schools to support

her claims as well. Khan, on the other hand, uses both pathos and logos to persuade the

viewer. Khan attempts to evoke feelings of inspiration by relating the topic to personal

growth. Khan also uses reason to convince the audience of its purpose testing for

mastery. He uses his own personal experiences to support these claims. The evidence

may be considered valid because he is a credible source; however, the evidence might

also be considered invalid because the audience may not agree with him.

Despite their many differences, both genres do well to express the main ideas.

Laytons genre did refer to facts and data, yet Khans genre enabled the audience to

connect with what was being said. Laytons genre and Khans worked because each
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genre was tailored specifically to their target audience. Both genres do well to convince

their respective audiences that the purpose of teaching should not be to earn the highest

test scores, the purpose of teaching should be to engage with the student and allow the

student to gain a full understanding of the subject matter. Both genres do well to inform

the audiences that extensive testing only leads to negative results and subpar learning.
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References

Khan, S. (2015, November). Lets teach for mastery not test scores [Video file].

Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/sal_khan_let_s_teach_for_

mastery_not_test_scores

Layton, L. (2015, October 24). Study says standardized testing is overwhelming nations

public schools. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washington

post.com/local/education/study-says-standardized-testing-is-overwhelming-

nations-public-schools/2015/10/24/8a22092c-79ae-11e5-a958-

d889faf561dc_story.html
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