Memorizing is Not Learning

After reading I am eager to further research the new STAAR testing to see if it is an improvement. My son is only 7 months old so it is interesting to me to watch his development. When I show him a cat toy and tell him it says meow he may be able to memorize that, but how will he ever know a cats meow without seeing a real cat? My classmate discusses previous testing education where students aren't taught material but made to memorize correct answers. Do we really need students that can recite a table of elements or students that have been in a lab and have tested and experimented themselves. I know that I will be far more proud of my sons creative mind wanting to know more than what something is but also how it works . It is nice to read my classmates perspective on testing, she gave great insight on the downfalls of previous tests and why we need to improve them. I found her article informative and I like that she gave an example of problems she has experienced first hand with her own child testing.