Ace that Test?

Does acing a test mean you know or understand the subject matter? You might be able to fool a teacher into thinking so (I use"might" loosely), but as a student I will admit to acing tests I hardly understand; I crammed for the test, spat back all the information, got the A, and forgot it all.


The idea that testing is an effective form of assessment puzzles me. This is, in part, the reason I chose to write my junior theme on the SAT because I question if the test actually measures anything important- other than the student's ability to take the test with out necessarily understanding how to apply the material.

This theme is mirrored in Don Delillo's White Noise as the main character Jack Gladney, head of the "Hitler Studies" deapartment at "The College on the Hill", struggles to learn to speak German. Although Jack "did wonderfully well with vocabulary and rules of grammar" and  "could have passed a written test easily, made top grades" he "continued to have trouble pronouncing the words" (165). In this passage, DeLillo comments on how someone could make "top grades", but still not be able to apply the material. In Jack's case, he's able to memorize vocabulary and grammar, but knowing that information is all in vain if he still can't speak German. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure language is meant to be spoken.

I'm not trying to say that all tests are pointless, we obviously need a way to assess academic achievment, but is testing the best method?