In my personal opinion, standardized tests are one of the worst things to ever happen to the American school system. Based on the video, John Oliver probably feels the same way. Standardized tests have played a huge part in my generations life. When I attended public school in Massachusetts, all students were required to take a standardized test called MCAS (often referred to by students as the "Massachusetts Child Abuse System" because we were never told what it actually stood for). Doing well on the MCAS was the students and teachers goal. Oliver talked about this in the video; how students and teachers work towards nothing but these "important" standardized tests at the end of the year. Almost everything taught and learned in school is done in preparation of these tests, but why? It could be argued that they are play an important role in determining ones future, but the same question can be asked again-- why? Why is it that a single test has such a huge impact on the future of someone's life? These tests are considered to be so important that students stress about them to the point of break downs, depression, crying, and as mentioned in Oliver's video, vomiting. The tests were designed to help students in getting a better education, but they are really doing more harm than good.
John Oliver is obviously opinionated in his video, and works throughout the video to persuade the viewers to agree with his opinion. He does this by providing facts, giving examples, and even using humor to get the audience on his side. Oliver uses ethos, pathos, and logos to assist in the persuasion of the views. He makes the idea of standardized testing seem nonsensical by stating numerous counterarguments, and then giving reasons why those arguments won't work. For example he states that the test is not only for students but also teachers. The test will show how much the students are learning from the teachers based on scoring. Then Oliver shows a video of a teacher who received a poor rating because the predicted score for one of his students was higher than what she was capable of getting on the test. Oliver later appeals to the emotion of the crowd. He talks about the pressure that is put on students, and how that pressure leads to stress and sometimes break downs. He then proves his point by showing a video of a girl giving a speech on standardized tests. She talks about how her future should not be so swayed by a single test. The girl struggles to speak a she obviously fights back tears. The audience sympathizes with the girl, and realizes just how stressful these tests can be.
Oliver also uses humor to get the viewers on his side. While watching the video a crowd in the background can often be heard laughing and cheering. However, Oliver doesn't abuse the use of humor. He gets a laugh while proving a point, for example he compares the formula used to create standardized tests, to the formula used to impregnate cows. The statement is humorous, but also makes a point of the ridiculousness of standardized tests. Oliver also doesn't overuse humor. He will say something humorous (perhaps to keep a light mood) but then he changes back to a serious tone. This ensures that he is taken seriously.
I enjoyed this video to the point where I had my parents watch it with me. John Oliver makes some impressive points to persuade the audience to agree with him. I often found myself thinking I hope this isn't the end of the video because I wanted to hear more. The video provides further evidence that something needs to change when it comes to standardized tests. Now we just have to ask ourselves when.
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