Slavery in the American Colonies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Slavery in the American Colonies - Essay Example According to the discussion  America since its very beginning practiced cruel racism which does not have any true scientific or biological base. Ethnic segregation and discrimination was very much evident in all areas. This practice started long years back and was followed by people and transferred to the next generations. It later became a political phenomenon. The white majority was found to be proud in their own race (a part of heritage). They were of the belief that they are superior to others in race as well as culture. They tried to put the minorities down in order to strengthen their own group. They developed extreme hatred towards the black minorities and had an overall sense of bigotry. The black minorities were oppressed to the core and were denied all rights. The demands and opinion of the blacks were never considered at all.  From this essay it is clear that  Story of the elimination of slavery from the American land is quite long. Slavery is the core reason the nat ion witnessed the disastrous civil war. United States started practicing slavery as early as 1619. Towards the closing of American Revolution, majority of the northern states stopped slavery, while the plantation economy of the South continued practicing it. In the years before the Civil War all the issues were centered on the issue of slavery. This started with the debates made on the three-fifths clause on the Constitutional Convention of 1787.... In the years before the Civil War all the issues were centered on the issue of slavery. This started with the debates made on the three-fifths clause on the Constitutional Convention of 1787. It further proceeded with the Compromise of 1820, the anti-slavery Gag Rule, the Nullification Crisis, and finally the Compromise of 1850. In the first half of the nineteenth century slavery was supported by the Southern politicians. They maintained the control of the federal government. Though they had most of their Presidents hailing from the South, they were very serious about maintaining a balance of power in the Senate. New states joined the Union and several compromises appeared to keep an equal number of free and slave states. In 1820, Missouri joined as a slave state and Maine came as a free state. The balance got disrupted in 1850 as Southerners allowed California to come as a free state in return for laws upholding slavery. The balance was later disturbed with the joining of free Orego n and Minnesota. The increase of the gap between free and slave state illustrates the changes happening in each region. When South, with a slow population growth, adopted an agrarian plantation economy, North adopted industrialization. They had large urban areas, with large infrastructures. They witnessed increased birth rates and a large inflow of European immigrants. The increase in population made South to keep a balance in the government. This lead to the addition of several free states. An anti-slavery president was also appointed. The political issue that ultimately took the nation towards the war was nothing but slavery in the western territories acquired during the Mexican-American War. The same

Standardized Tests and Informal Reading Assessments Essay

Standardized Tests and Informal Reading Assessments - Essay Example A standardized test is one that employs a standard method assessment. Such tests include CAT (California Achievement Test), STAR (Standardized Testing And Reporting). These tests are employed to determine if a student is fulfilling certain requirements ordained for his grade, age and intellectual level, and if he does so, he is promoted to the next grade. Some institutions use these tests along with other tools of assessment, while others simply rely on the test scores for assessing a student’s academic performance. Standardized tests are relied upon heavily for assessment purposes; yet there are many benefits as well as upsides associated with them Standardized tests are considered accountability tools for teachers and students (Meador, 2012). The syllabi taught vary from school to school, and also from teacher to teacher. So it is standardized tests that reconcile this gap and ensure that at least a particular guideline is followed regarding teaching and learning (Panday, 20 11). By comparing a child’s score with score from other subjects the tests are influential in highlighting the weaknesses and strong sides of a child; at the same time allowing for comparison of a particular subjects score, over time; allowing to infer improvement or (Popham, 1999). Since, these tests are standardized; they allow the scores of students to be compared from school to school or even at a larger scale like states; also allowing for data from social subgroups to be compared (Meador, 2012). Standardized Tests are helpful in testing and Judging a students’ Cognitive abilities and skills (Brassard & Boehm, 2008). Another important feature of standardized tests is that they are completely objective in nature; since, they are marked by computers; they grade every student on same terms and without biases (Meador, 2012). Standardized tests are also criticized by many academic highlighting many upsides in the tests and the assessment they provide. Over and over sta ndardized tests have been criticized as an inaccurate and limited means of assessing a students’ achievement and learning (Fairtest, 2007). Learning cannot be just established through a single measure, it is not uni-dimensional, and requires measurement of dimensions like creativity and ability to learn step-by-step etc. (Panday, 2011). Although standardized tests are capable of assessing a child’s cognitive abilities, yet they need t be culturally and linguistically just in order to do so, but that is not the case with standardized tests in schools, they are too demanding and are not an accurate measure, hence, requiring the use of other assessing mechanisms along with the tests to ensure proper assessment (Brassard & Boehm, 2008). Scores from these tests are considered representing a student’s educational and intellectual capacities, and thus results in their being allocated to inferior educational practices, taking away the opportunity to learn what their fel lows will be learning (Weaver, 1995). Standardized tests have also been criticized for leading the curriculum to be exam oriented; only topics covered in the exams are taught and limit the broader coverage and implications of education (Fairtest, 2007). Standardized tests also depict a false impression of being ‘objective’, when the only objectivity they have about them is that they are scored by computers, while their preparing and all the other procedures are carried out by people who belong to some group or the other