What, I ask, is intelligence? Can anybody give me a definition? Is intelligence measured by how well one does on an entrance exam, an SAT? ItâÂÂs funny that you answer no to the former because that is exactly what American society has brainwashed us to believe.
Here in New York weâÂÂve got all kinds of tests to âÂÂmeasure intelligence,â from pre-kindergarten and kindergarten entrance exams, to Gifted & Talented tests that only continue our societyâÂÂs obsession with the hierarchy system, to tests measuring how up to par one is on their reading ability, and more recently the Regents exam.
As a student in a competitive high school where report card day is often the greatest example of the schoolâÂÂs theatrical ability, with students sobbing, screaming, and sharpening the X-Acto knives theyâÂÂd like to puncture the teachers with, a lot of emphasis is put on tests such as the Regents, PSAT and SAT. Starting in ninth grade, weâÂÂre pressured to believe that the Regents are evidence of how smart one really is and that theyâÂÂre looked at when applying to colleges but believe me, itâÂÂs all a farce.
First off, the Regents were instilled by former President BushâÂÂs No Child Left Behind Act in order to ensure that well, no child would be left behind, something that would supposedly be proved by how well one scored on a test. In actuality, the Regents are used by New York State to, as mentioned earlier, continue the hierarchy system by showing which schools have the highest scoring students and are deemed âÂÂbetter thanâ and âÂÂsmarter thanâ and honestly, is just a way for the state as a whole to prove to the rest that our schools are the best. ItâÂÂs been sad to see how hard kids study and waste money on those small, red BarronâÂÂs books for a test that only gives the City bragging rights.
Interestingly enough, my school loves to complain about how its students couldâÂÂve improved on the various tests when the blame really lies in the teachers who start training for these Army-like exams two months prior to the tests. However, too much blame cannot be put on these teachers for basically carrying out the orders set by the Board of Education officials constantly breathing down their necks. The real blame lies in the creators of such tests that claim to test how ready an individual is to go to the next grade and more importantly, college.
My friend once told me that when her older sister, now a sophomore at SUNY at Geneseo, was applying to the school they had two checkboxes which basically asked whether she had a Regents diploma or not. For those knowledgeable about the test, we know that it comes in two forms, Regents and Advanced Regents, the latter of which basically means one has taken and passed more tests. This fact interested me and made me smirk a little because with so much pressure put on how these grades will look on transcripts to colleges, everyoneâÂÂs desired destination, itâÂÂs funny to see that colleges could really care less.