Food Insecurities Essay Example for Free

Food Insecurities Essay Have you ever seen a person yell at his colleague or his partner, overreacting on a particular matter that has caused not only the person who got yelled at to feel annoyed, but also third parties who know about it or have witnessed the scene? For the many who do not wish to get into the mess, or has enough logic sense to not judge immediately, they will most likely give out a fair statement and try to reason out that person’s overreaction by saying he probably had a bad day or he probably has dilemma at home. However, if we take a bit closer and look closely, all of us will eventually realise that it all goes down to one matter; insecurity. Insecurities are not something new and unfamiliar to the human kind. Everyone has insecurities, regardless of whether they realise it or not. The Oxford Dictionary defines insecurity as the uncertainty or anxiety about oneself or lack of confidence. Insecurities exist in every living soul on this planet. Till today, it is still seen as a negative matter as not many have addressed this issue in proper ways using proper mediums. Most parents don’t even talk about it and shove it away when their children decide to speak up about it. Little do people know that the slightest things in life are the ones that add up to our insecurities. The amount of insecurity in a person differs from one to the other. The types of insecurities that one possesses also vary. The most common type of insecurity is physical insecurity. Let’s face it; human beings are never satisfied. Even when you have all the parts of the body needed to sustain and go through your daily routine with ease, you still beg for more. Some want healthier and shiner hair, some want to be taller, but most importantly, everyone wants something. It is not just human beings as an individual who face insecurities, but also countries and states. Currently, the world is looking at the issue of food insecurity, which is also classified as a type of insecurity. Food security may be said as the availability of food and one’s access to it. Hence, the United Nations have defined food security as all people at all times having both physical and economic access to the basic food they need. For more than 2 billion of people on this planet, they are lucky to not worry about this form of insecurity. However, we might not realise this but this matter is more complicated than it seems. Food securities may result from many different causes. It is imperative that we focus on why are the food insecure, and why are the people are food insecure. Among the most common causes of food insecurities are drought and extreme weather changes. This setback, which is very commonly faced by third world countries, usually ranges from overnight floods to droughts. In short, the climate changes faced by these countries are extreme. In most African countries, like Nigeria, droughts are not new to them. It has been a setback since the time of their ancestors; nonetheless, they are helpless at it and have no comeback on solving this matter. In many comparisons throughout time, some of the most severe food crises were all preceded by drought or by other similarly extreme weather events. These extremities result in poor and failed harvests which in turn results food scarcity and high prices of the available food. As mentioned in the Climate and Development Knowledge Network report entitled ‘Managing Climate Extremes and Disasters in the Agriculture Sectors: Lessons from the IPCC SREX Report’, such force of nature causes impacts which will include not only food insecurity, but changing productivity and livelihood patterns, economic losses, and impacts on the infrastructure. Besides that, the natural resource base for the poor and food-insecure is invariably narrow and, in many areas, fragile. With the exception of Uganda only 4 to 10 percent of the land area is classed as arable, and just a small area of land suitable for rainfed cultivation. The greatest numbers of poor people are concentrated in the arid and semi-arid ecosystems and on marginal land in the higher rainfall parts of the region. It has become axiomatic to say that poverty is one of the main causes of environmental degradation. This can be seen all too clearly in the farming of steep slopes, which takes place as an increasing population is forced to cultivate marginal land. The falling crop yields that characterize the marginal areas are a result of the loss of massive quantities of topsoil throughout the region, declining soil fertility as fallow systems are replaced by continuous cultivation, reductions in soil organic matter as manure is burnt for fuel, and shrinking holding sizes. However, the poor are also the most vulnerable to environmental degradation because they depend on he exploitation of common property resources for a greater share of their incomes than richer households do. In the rangelands, the evidence for long-term secular environmental degradation is ambiguous. The successive cyclical growth and decline of herds reflects cycles of rainfall and rangeland productivity, and is perfectly normal. As animals die in large numbers, the rangelands recover remarkably quickly. However, when there i s a major drop in the number of animals, the people who depend on them for their livelihoods also suffer. Development programmes that have sought to increase animal production on rangelands through water development and animal disease prevention have all too often failed to find, at the same time, sustainable ways of increasing animal nutrition, so the resulting increased numbers of animals may wreak havoc on the range itself. Many of the available freshwater resources are in river basins and lakes that extend beyond the boundaries of individual nations. Shared water resources include lakes Victoria, Albert, Edward, Kivu and Turkana and major rivers such as the Blue Nile, White Nile, Atbara, Awash and Shebele. The potential for developing irrigation from these sources is constrained by the problem of achieving agreement on sharing the resources and avoiding conflict. Although natural climatic factors have played their part in the process of desertification, in general, it is increased population and the related development of unsustainable production systems that have had most negative impact on the fragile natural resource base. Wood and manure have remained the main sources of domestic energy, even in urban centres. This situation has contributed to depleting the forest and range resources, resulting in an overall decrease in biomass and biodiversity, reduced water infiltration and increased runoff and soil erosion. These factors, which contribute to the impoverishment of ecosystems, have led to a vicious circle of environmental degradation, lower system resilience to erratic rainfall, decreased agricultural productivity and increased poverty and food insecurity. Not only that, the cause of food insecurity in these third world countries are also caused by the poor state of development and maintenance of roads and transport, energy sources and telecommunications in the marginal areas of countries in the Horn of Africa makes it difficult for these areas to become integrated into the national and regional economy. As with all other indicators of development, the countries of the region have some of the worst figures worldwide with respect to access to roads and water supply. A recent report suggests that, in terms of access to infrastructure, the gap between Africa and the rest of the world has widened over the past 15 years. The sparse road and communications network hampers emergency relief operations as well as the commercialization of the rural economy. The density of the road network in the countries of the region gives an idea of both how difficult it is to reach people in rural areas with services and the problems such people face in participating in the market economy. For example, in Ethiopia, every kilometre of road serves 72 km 2 and 3 000 people, compared with only 8 km 2 and 850 people in North Africa. Even after strenuous efforts by development agencies and NGOs, access to a clean water supply is still an unobtainable luxury for most rural inhabitants in the Horn. Piped systems are uncommon in rural areas and protected wells and hand pumps are the best that rural communities can expect. The burden of collecting water, as with so many other menial tasks, falls almost exclusively on women in the communities, who must spend many hours each day collecting water from unsafe sources. The statistics on access to water and sanitation reveal wide differences within the region. In three countries, namely Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, only one-quarter of the population has access to safe water, and in two others (the Sudan and Uganda) the figure is less than 50 percent. Access to sanitation is as low as 13 percent and, except for Kenya, barely exceeds 50 percent anywhere. In addition to that, the indicators of access to social services in the countries that face the setback of food insecurity are also among the lowest in the world. While the average figures are bad enough, they mask fundamental inequalities in access to services within the region. Again, rural areas, especially remote, low-potential areas are the least well served. Nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoralists are the most difficult populations to provide services to and, consequently, they are invariably the ones with the poorest health services and least education. All these indicators, combined with malnutrition and poor access to safe water, have adverse consequences for productivity and for the long-term physical and cognitive development of people in the region. Also, let us not forget the fact that crop and plants as well face diseases. Diseases affecting livestock or crops can have devastating effects on food availability especially if there are no emergency back-up plans in place. For example, an epidemic of stem rust on wheat which was spreading across Africa and into Asia in 2007 caused major concern. A virulent wheat disease could destroy most of the world’s main wheat crops, leaving millions to starve. The fungus had spread from Africa to Iran and may already be in Pakistan. A different threat, on the other hand, has attacked the African continent’s second biggest crop; wheat. In 1999, 50 years since the last outbreak, a contemporary and virulent strain of stem rust attacked the Ugandan crops. Its spores then travelled to Ethiopia and Kenya, before appearing in Iran last year. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nation (FAO) has given warning to six other countries in the Central and South Asia to be prepared and keep an eye for symptoms of this new strain while scientists in the United States of America are working diligently in searching for a resistant that combats this problem. It is important that the remedy for this will be obtained quickly as in India alone; more than 50 million small-scale farmers are at risk because they depend on wheat for their food and earnings. Most importantly, we must not overlook that politics and dictatorship also play a role in food insecurity. Many do not realise that politics play a part in something as serious as this. As mentioned by Nobel Prize-winning economist Amarya Sen, â€Å"There is no such thing as an apolitical food problem. It is more often than not that the administration of the country that determines its severity, or even whether the famine will occur. If truth be told, the 20th century is full of examples of governments undermining the food security of their own nations. Let us take a look at Nigeria, Africa’s most densely inhabited state, where a legacy of corrupted governance and an economy based primarily on oil exports has left the agriculture sector significantly undermined, leaving millions of N igerians in deep hunger. True, the neighbouring countries export food to Nigeria in exchange for money, but remember; the people in these neighbouring countries need food too. And they are much poorer than those living in Nigeria. It was reported by the United Nations that thousands of children in countries neighbouring Nigeria died because of malnutrition. These kids paid the price not because of food shortage in their country, but because of food shortage in Nigeria. The distribution of food is often a political issue in most countries. The government will always give priority to urban areas and cities, since most influential and powerful families and enterprises are located there. The ruling government over and over again for generations overlooks the subsistence farmers and rural areas in general. In other words, the more rural an area, the less likely the government will pay attention to solving its needs. Whats more is that the governments of these countries would normally keep the price of basic grain at extremely low levels that subsistence farmers cannot accumulate sufficient capital to make investments to improve their production. Hence, they are prevented from getting out of their precarious situation. In addition, food has always been a political arsenal by the dictators and warlords, where they reward their supporters and deny food supplies to those areas that are against them. Under this condition, food has become more like a currency instead of a basic need that cannot be denied rights of. Food has become the money to buy support and used against the opposition. Even in Guatemala, income inequality is amongst the worst in the world, with indigenous communities at a disadvantage. In some areas, an estimated 75 percent of the children, ranging from infants to children ages six and seven years old, are severely malnourished. And this is a shocking statistic relating food scarcity coming from a country that is merely a four-hour flight away from the USA. Furthermore, it was pointed out in William Bernstein’s 2004 publication entitled ‘The Birth of Plenty’ that individuals without property will lead to starvation and it is much easier to bend the fearful and the hungry to the will of the state. If a farmer’s property can be arbitrarily threatened by the state, that power will inevitably be used to intimidate those with different political and religious opinions. It is fundamental and crucial that we understand and be aware of the consequences of this global food scarcity. The effects might be similar to the effects of malnutrition and hunger, where, at the outset, the human population will be affected greatly in the sense where stunted growth may occur. The stunting starts in when the baby is still in the mother’s womb and happens till the age of three. Once stunting happens, giving proper nutrition to these helpless children will not help in reversing the damage or improving the child’s condition. Pregnant mothers who do not receive the correct amount of nutrition needed may risk of having a higher chance of infant and child mortality later on, which is, of course, a very heartbreaking circumstance. Apart from that, severe malnutrition during one’s early childhood also leads to defects in cognitive development. Stunted individuals also have a higher chance of getting diseases and illnesses as compared to those who have not experienced stunting. It must also come to the attention that food insecurity is also associated with various developmental consequences for children in the United States. A research was conducted by Diana F. Jyoti, Edward A. Frongillo, and Sonya J. Jones to prove that food insecurity is linked to specific developmental consequences for children, and whether these consequences may be both nutritional and nonnutritional.

Comparing Tradition and Change in Amy Tans The Kitchen Gods Wife and

Tradition and Change in The Kitchen God's Wife and The Joy Luck Club  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughout the novels The Kitchen God's Wife and The Joy Luck Club, author Amy Tan conveys the message of tradition and change. Each novel contains sections about mothers talking and relating their stories to their daughters. The daughters in The Joy Luck Club hear stories about loss and happiness, and joy and hate. Each of the four mothers tell these stories to their daughters as lessons, or offerings for their futures. They tell the stories to show how lucky their daughters have been, yet how their lives will never be the same as their own lives have been. They try to help their daughters on some level with these stories. Yet they comprehend the fact that they could never understand their mothers. The main character, Pearl, in The Kitchen God's Wife talks about her life and her mother. Pearl, and her mother Winnie, the other half of the mother/daughter pair attend a funeral as Pearl narrates. They then go to Winnie's home, as Winnie dotes on Pearl and her two daughters . Pearl's heart breaks as she notices all the small intricacies of her mother, and all the little things that her mother does to illustrate her love. As Pearl and her family drive away from her mother's house, Winnie begins to narrate, to her daughter about her life, her hardships, and her loves. Through these two novels, the five mother/daughter pairs and the perception of mother to daughter, the theme of mother daughter relationships is distinctly portrayed. Pearl views her mother in many different ways. Often, through her mother's movements, or appearance, she will view her mother as fragile, yet strong and knowing, "...I imagine my mother's parchment like skin, furious... ...ire. "Amy Tan." The Bloomsbury Guide to Womens Literature. Pg1065 Great Britian: Bloomsbury Publishing, 1992. Cheng, Scarlet. "Amy Tan Redux." Belles Letters. Fall, 1991, pp 15, 19.(on GaleNet) Davidson, Cathy N. and Linda Wagner-Matlin. "Amy Tan." The Oxford Companion to Womens Writing in the United States. Pg 869. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. Graham, Judith. "Amy Tan." Current Biography Yearbook. pg559 New York: H.W. Wilson Company, 1992. See, Carolyn. "Drowning in America, Starving for China." in Los Angeles Times Book Review. March 12, 1989, pp1, 11.(on GaleNet) Shear, Walter. "Generational Differences and the Diaspora in The Joy Luck Club." in <>Critique. Volume 34, No3, Spring 1993 pp 193-99.(on GaleNet) Willard, Nancy. "Tiger Spirits." in The Women's Review of Books. Vol.6, Nos. 10-11, July 1989, pg12.(on GaleNet)   

Language of Robinson Crusoe Essay

Daniel Dafoe’s popular novel, originally titled The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years, all alone in an uninhabited Island on the Coast of America, near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque; Having been cast on Shore by Shipwreck, wherein all the Men perished but himself. With an Account how he was at last as strangely deliver’d by Pyrates (iii), like most classics underwent many editions through the years. However nothing but the first edition, which is the basis of this essay, can give us the look and feel of the time as intended to be shown by the author. EARLY MODERN ENGLISH According to Volume 14 of The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes, Early Modern English period marked the expansion of the use of the English language outside England. But since English was spread at various times it has been subjected to different influences and additional variations caused by attempts at etymological spelling (Ward et al ch 15 sec 3 par 1). These were evident in the novel in two aspects of language: grammar and vocabulary (Ward et al ch 15 sec 1 par 1-2). Among the inflectional changes during the early modern English was the dropping of the weak vowel in verbs ending in –ed (Ward et al. ch 15 sec 4 par. 7). Examples of these manifested not only in the title (the word deliver’d) but within the text itself such as call’d, fill’d, encreas’d, and fatigu’d. Spelling also appeared to be phonetically defective (Ward et al. ch 15 sec 3 par. 1) with words like perswasions, lyon, lye, and prophetick. Compounding of words were also used in the novel by examples of free-school, hand-maids, ground-tackle and fellow-slave. However, the change in the verbs as well as the defects in spelling was not applied to the entire novel which makes us consider the reasons for such use. TOWARDS A PURITY IN STYLE Daniel Defoe, in his book An Essay upon Projects, emphasized that it was the responsibility of the society to polish and refine the English tongue and to purge it from all the irregular additions that ignorance and affectation have introduced as befitted the noblest and most comprehensive of all the vulgar languages in the world (8). The spread of the English language was depicted in the novel when Robinson Crusoe teaches his servant Friday the English language. We may notice from an excerpt of their discourse below that although essentially Crusoe and Friday came to communicate effectively with each other, Friday’s English differs much from Crusoe’s parallel to their difference in status and origin: Friday, My Nation beat much, for all that. Master, How beat; if your Nation beat them, how come you to be taken? Friday, They more many than my Nation in the Place where me was; they take one, two, three, and me; my Nation over beat them in the yonder Place, where me no was; there my Nation take one, two, great Thousand. Master, But why did not your Side recover you from the Hands of your Enemies then? Friday, They run one, two, three, and me, and make go in the Canoe; my Nation have no Canoe that time. (Defoe, â€Å"Robinson Crusoe† 254) Much is the same circumstance that brought about the variations and additions to the English language in which Defoe is clamoring for purity (â€Å"An Essay upon Projects† 8). Shoar and Shore. Aside from the defective spelling mentioned earlier is the variation in the spelling (Ward et al. ch 15 sec 3 par. 1). An example if this is the word shore, spelled shore and shoar, in different context of the novel. It may be noted that shoar was only used in the part of Robinson Crusoe’s mishaps. That is to say, from the part of his captivity at Sallee until before his wreck on the island. These mishaps, Crusoe later reflected on, were results of his ignorance in the Providence of God and malcontent thus the use of the spelling shoar. While his solitary life in the island described the learning process he underwent to survive and finally live harmoniously with his surroundings; hence the renewed use of the spelling shore. In this regard, one may interpret that the use of the word was intentional to show the need and difficulty in creating a standard for the English language. viz. and (viz. ). The use of foreign language in novels is quite common throughout the ages. As such, we came to attention on the use of the Latin word viz. Oxford English Dictionary defines viz. as the abbreviation of videlicet which generally means namely or that is to say (1033). Although Defoe used viz. without parenthesis and viz. in parenthesis based on the same definition, its participation in the statement are quite different. The viz. without parenthesis was used in identifying and qualifying statements such as the â€Å"All the rest of that Day I spent in afflicting my self at the dismal Circumstances I was brought to, viz. I had neither Food, House, Clothes, Weapon, or Place to fly to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (â€Å"Robinson Crusoe† 82). On the other hand, viz. in parenthesis, which appeared in lines like â€Å"This was what I wish’d for; so I took them up, and serv’d them as we serve notorious Thieves in England, (viz. ) Hang’d them in Chains for a Terror to others†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (â€Å"Robinson Crusoe† 138), was used as such in order to explain earlier statement. The use of parenthesis to differentiate the use of the same word in the novel further reflects Defoe’s quest for refinement of the English language as mentioned previously. CONCLUSION Indeed, regardless of the plot of the story which categorized it to fiction, the culture and language of the time is unmistakable. Robinson Crusoe, in its original version, allows us the indulgence to peek and appreciate not only the early modern English language but the period as well. The flexibility of the language then reflected the society of that time as it has always been for any period or era. At the same time, the novel provided additional venue for the author to disseminate his ideas and further his individual attempt towards the transition to the modern English language and insertions to the importance of learning across the spectrum of the society. Such power language has to influence its readers, whether consciously or unconsciously. And the duality that the novel showed made it a favorite among children and adults alike. Fulfilling its objectives to entertain and propagate (however subtle it may be). Works Cited Defoe, Daniel. An Essay Upon Projects. New York: Adamant Media Corporation, 2005. Print. —. The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years, all alone in an uninhabited Island on the Coast of America, near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque; Having been cast on Shore by Shipwreck, wherein all the Men perished but himself. With an Account how he was at last as strangely deliver’d by Pyrates. London: printed for W. Taylor, 1719. Print. Oxford English Dictionary. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print. Ward, Aldolphus William, Sir, et al. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1907-21; New York: Bartleby. com, 2000 (Web) April 1, 2009.

Setting the Standard In Defense of Standardized Testing in Todays Society - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2717 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2019/06/14 Category Management Essay Level High school Tags: Standardized Testing Essay Did you like this example? Society today is fraught with conflict. With the current social landscape in the United States firmly polarized, one is not shocked to note that the realm of education is not exempt from discourse. Regardless of ones profession or social sphere, it is more likely than not that the issue of standardized testing is brought up, whether due to direct personal impact on a family member or child or due to exposure on the news. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Setting the Standard: In Defense of Standardized Testing in Todays Society" essay for you Create order The term, standardized testing refers to testing that is conducted in a consistent and controlled manner, with a rigid grading structure and administered according to a book of defined rules. Standardized tests are created based off of a central curriculum and rubric that all educational institutions are instructed to adhere to. This practice is meant to put all students on an equal playing field by ensuring each student is taught the same material in the same manner, then tested according to said information. Standardized testing has been and continues to be a topic for debate, especially based on whether the benefits outweigh the cons when it comes to its effect on children, teachers, and schools. While there are multiple stances on the issue, there are two main positions. One side decries standardized testing and endorses a reduction in the number (if not outright elimination) of tests. The other supports standardized testing practice, citing that the standardized testing system should stay the way it is. This paper will support the pro-test position, while also addressing the main arguments against standardized testing. Testing will be evaluated as an equalizer and as a constructive method to evaluate the effectiveness of schools, as well as an indicator of material retention. Additionally, the merits of assessment must also be addressed, as well as the concept around teaching to the test. While standardized testing comes in many forms, dependent on the level of implementation and its source, this evaluation will focus on the concept of standardized testing itself rather than a specific test. Before one can begin to explain the benefits of standardized testing, one must first establish the importance of testing in general. For the purposes of this pa per, testing or rather, assessment, refers to a tool to measure the amount and quality of course material retained. For this information to be considered quality, the student must be able to apply the information rather than simply regurgitate it back on to the page (memorization). That being the case, this also implies that where assessment is concerned, the tests administered must ask questions that would allow students being tested to apply their knowledge. Assessment is a rather broad term and covers projects, teacher-student evaluations and reflections, and of course, the traditional tests and quizzes (Boss). However, since the focus of this analysis is standardized testing, the area of assessment to be examined are specifically tests and quizzes. Assessment is valuable mainly because it is a tool that can measure how well students are learning information, as well as illuminate the areas that need further review. According to the Review of Educational Researchs review of literature about the impact of classroom testing in 1988, formative testing was found to improve learning, both in the short and long term. Short-term effects included a heightened focus on classroom material, providing additional practice with the material, and helping students better understand further educational activities. Long-term effects included increased student motivation, reinforcing teaching goals, influencing the development of learning strategies, and even impacting students future course selection (qtd. in Earl, 43). A possible reason for these effects could be that through assessment, students can view their results and not only find where they can improve, but also what skills they excel in. This information could then be used by teachers to advise them in possible career paths or course work. Without assessment, both teachers and students would be left in the dark as to where an individual stands in their understanding and thus, no progress would be possible for either the teacher or student (Holland 2001 qtd. in Phelps, 222). On the other hand, critics of assessment argue that the benefits of assessment (such as measurement of material mastery) do not outweigh the cons of the pressure it puts children and educators under. One critic goes so far as to claim that learning is not a competitive sport and should not be treated as such (Dixon). Others contend that the amount of time spent on assessment takes away from the learning process (Covaleskie, 1) and that test preparation efforts are an entirely separate affair from teaching children to write, read, or even think (Almagor, 2)†implying that test preparation is not a form of learning in and of itself. However, th e problem with these comments is the assumption that the sole purpose and value in testing is the test score. These arguments do not take into account that assessment is more than a score. Rather, assessment is more of a process that informs classroom instruction and vice versa; instruction informs assessment (Paul, 2). Assessment, test preparation and quality of education are intimately intertwined. Formative assessment is essential to the learning process and teaching as a whole (Winch, 103); namely because of its many facets. Assessment means attention to student motivation and engagement, making connections between subjects, measuring the progression of learning, and planning linkages between instruction and the tests themselves (Earl, 45). Further, through the synthesis of 250 studies about the link between learning and testing, the Assessment Reform Group (1999) and Black William (1998) concluded that assessment is: a critical part of teachers perception of teaching, involves the sharing of learning goals between instructor and student, involves students in self-assessment and reflection, provides feedback for improvement, and ultimately, is reinforced by the idea that all students can improve (qtd. in Earl, 44). Testing is critically important to education because it gives educators and policy makers the opportunity to use the test results as a means to measure where students are and as a starting point for future lesson plans and methods to increase the quality of education in America as a whole. Wh ile the merits of testing are obvious, the issue with relying on traditional classroom assessment is the sheer variability of the material taught, as well as the teaching methods used. While general achievement levels provide some significant information, this information must be contextualized and the only way to do so is through thorough qualitative and quantitative analyses (Paul, 3). If assessment varied from teacher to teacher, school to school, state to state, then there would be no accurate way to generalize the results. Further, there is also the influence of outside factors to consider, including but not limited to: amount of educational funding, priorities of each environment (state, county, school, etc.), physical and/or mental disabilities, and social stratification. Considering these factors, this makes standardization a priority. The true brilliance of testing, when standardized, is its use of an equalizer. Namely, this effect is possible because the term standardized testing does not just refer to the test itself, but also the process and central curriculum that comes alongside it. One argument against standardization is that tests administered by testing companies may be biased or the government could manipulate the test material to best benefit themselves instead of the population at large. However, this concern is contradictory because of educations role at the center of society. States provide funding for schools and also have the responsibility under U.S. law (such as the U.S.A. Constitu tion) to regulate state-wide education (Covaleskie, 4), especially once the No Child Left Behind Act passed (Madaus et al., 22). Thus, states have both a practical and principle interest in educational quality. Practically, states have an interest in the economic well-being of the states citizens because it uses their tax dollars to fund the schools. As for principle, states can only regulate their schools by receiving information about how these schools are faring (Covaleskie, 4). Further, there is an incentive to avoid governmental meddling due to the potential political and social backlash if the public learned of a scandal. Education is a central pillar of society and being so necessary, this means that it is essential that there is no discrimination in its implementation (Covaleskie, 3). On that note, the U.S. government has put policy in place to safeguard against discrimination. An example of these policies includes Section 504 of the Rehabilitative Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (L. Erlbaum Associates, 198), which were put in place to clearly define what disabilities are and ensure that they are accommodated. Therefore, testing companies offer alternatives for those with disabilities, such as providing extra time to take the test (or even no time limit) for those with learning disabilities; and also accommodate for students with other disadvantages, such as language barriers by providing translated versions of the test. Anot her main argument that opponents of standardization (and by extension, standardized testing) put forth is the question of the feasibility of truly standardized material. How can a single assessment package, curriculum, or test possibly be appropriate for all students regardless of gender, race, culture, socioeconomic status, or disability (Paul, 3)? However, test publishers and makers have been intentional in their efforts to address these concerns. There are procedures for creating standardized material and when developing a test, testing companies employ measures such as: having a representative sample of the entire population write and review the assessment materials, conducting pre-tests with a diverse sample, evaluating each test component for test bias, and consider norms (lets test user know percentage of the entire population that earned a certain score) (L. Erlbaum Associates, 193-194). In addition to standardization efforts when making the tests, how to properly go about setting the standard scores was also evaluated. Student advocates have and continue to work with measurement specialists to institute appropriate student performance standards (e.g. Kane, 2001 Zieky, 2001) (Firestone et al., 145). Interestingly enough, research has shown that the introduction of standards (i.e. quality control) have a positive effect on the average percent correct on a standardized test. In the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), a group of 30 countries participated in the same standardized test (7th and 8th grade level TIMSS exam) and were ranked according to the number of system-wide quality control measures used (standards) and the average TIMSS score per country. Top performing countries used more quality control measures, with the largest amount (~18) also yielding the highest average percentage correct (~77%). The United States ranked approximately in the middle of the top and bottom performing countries, but closer to the bottom overall, with the lowest grade retention rate at 1.65 (Phelps, 221). If we are to take this data as indicative of a larger trend, the U.S.A. may benefit from additional standardization rather than less. However, even with these standards in place, another strong objection to the testing regime is the claim that tests discriminate against minorities, on the basis that minorities (and poor rural whites) consistently score lower than middle class whites on standardized tests. However, it is a leap to claim that these results are definitive proof that the tests themselves are discriminatory. The tests are tools, tools specifically created with the intent to compensate for differences between students. If the interest is to create true educational equality, these tests have potential to illuminate the educational deprivation inflicted on the poor instead of sealing their fate; because, frankly, even without the tests, poor students would be denied educational equity. However, without standardized testing, there would be no hard proof of the discrepancies in educational quality (Covaleskie, 5). From the very wording itself, the phrase teaching to has a distinctly negative connotation and casts test preparation in the light of having an extremely narrow and simplistic scope. The phrasing perpetuates the perception that standardized testing is inherently bad. In reality, as covered in the section The Merits of Assessment, test preparation is actually beneficial in overall learning and retention. Unfortunately, the general assumption is that any deviation from the traditional classroom teaching methods subtracts from instruction and when teachers employ the traditional teaching model, it is always better than preparing students for an external assessment or test (Stotsky, 7), even if not necessarily true. In both Cizek (2002) and Mehrens (1988) review of empirical research literature, there was relatively sparse evidence to support the claims of negative consequences of classroom teachers test preparation (L. Erlbaum Associates, 166). Critics of standardized testing seem to assume that once high stakes are attached to assessments, teachers will abandon their professional duty to teach a balanced course to instead pursue measurement-focused instruction (L. Erlbaum Associates, 171); which seems to devalue both the teacher and the effort put into making a standardized and beneficial curriculum in the first place. Paired with the assumption that literature on the benefits of testing is nonexistent, there is an inherent bias against standardized testing from the start (L. Erlbaum Associates, 57-58). Phrasing aside, when on the topic of standardized testing, one common complaint is that testing lowers the quality of education and penalizes creativity. By forcing teachers to teach to the test, teachers are thus prevented from aiding students intellectual and emotional growth (Kohn 2002, qtd. in Covaleskie, 6). Author Anya Kamenetz claims that the current focus on testing in America makes schools unpleasant places and by the 12th grade, students have taken an average of 133 various exams and 28% of class time is spent on test preparation and testing (Kamenetz, qtd. in Dixon). This standpoint points at the current testing regime as the source of reductionist teaching, but education critics like John Dewey were decrying the same issues before standardized testing even existed. It is not that standardized testing suddenly came along and ruined education, but rather, reductionist and by-rote teachingis just the way its always been done (Covaleskie, 6). To be fair, there simply is not enough time, much less in a school year for students to learn everything there is to know about the world†there is simply too much information! The issue is that teaching to the test is a paradox in and of itself: if teachers do not teach the material that will be on the test, they will be criticized. On the other hand, if teachers do simply teach the material that they are told will be on the test, then they will be criticized (Phelps 40). That does bring up the question, however. What is wrong with teaching to the test when the central principle and basis of education is creating a curriculum (or lesson plan), teaching it, and then testing retention? Standardized testing is essentially a mechanism that gives the teacher their learning goals and basic lesson plan up front (while still allowing implementation of its contents to be the decision of the educator; as standardized tests do not dictate teaching method, but instead require mastery of specific knowledge (Phelps, 45)), with the only difference from normal teaching is that the standards come from an external source. The test itself does not control how educators or schools approach preparation for the exam, but rather identifies what information is seen as essential. One of the benefits of standardized testing is that it can be used to monitor student progress, as well as by extension, the quality of instruction or rather, if schools are fulfilling their promises to the public. More-so than that, testing can show weaknesses in the current system and thus, educators can focus their attention on improvement. Evaluation allows one make changes when necessary to maximize student success. The alternative view on using testing as a means of evaluation is that the results are used to measure the education system, which destroys real knowledge due to accountability pressure (Davis, 7). However, this raises the question of what is and who should define real knowledge? Who should have a say in what information is deemed important or not? Phelps posits that critics that consider external standards and believe that each individual teacher gets to choose what is best for his/her classroom deny [the] legal reality that the public has the right to choose curricular order for schools (Phelps, 39), considering its their children doing the learning and the society at large that will be affected. Covaleskie supports this point, mentioning that when government agencies, acting under democratic procedures (i.e. yielding to the publics vote), decide that schools should teach certain material, then it is their responsibility to ensure the material is taught.