To go to the
- college, you will need to take the SAT test.
- gradulate school, you will need to take the GRE test.
Completely untrue. You CAN take those tests. And you MAY be required to take them, but neither statement is true. I have never taken the SAT (although I did take the ASVAB and ACT tests way back when). I have never taken the GRE either. Has had zero impact on college or grad school.
Without testing (ranking), how can you separate good students from bad students?
You need a belt to tell you how someone is doing? I'm from systems that use belt ranks. But I certainly don't feel like I need them to know how a student is performing.
And as far as testing goes... I test every student in every class. By observing their performance, measured against the standards we set for our curriculum.
Testing doesn't need to be a test. A non-martial arts example:
When someone wants to be certified to SCUBA dive, they start with a basic Open Water certification. There are minor variations between agencies, but generally speaking that certifies them to plan and conduct dives, with a buddy, in open water, to a maximum depth of 60 feet. Single tank. No overhead environments. No mixed gases. No mandatory decompression.
There are skills that have to be learned and demonstrated to obtain that certification. Mostly mechanical skills. If you like, you can see a list
HERE. These skills are initially taught during the classroom, and then practiced in a pool or other confined water.
So some instructors will take the student down, sit them on the bottom, and go through the skills one by one.
Others (and this is my preferred approach) say "OK, let's go diving." because in large part, those skills are things you are going to do on a dive. Doing it this way is low stress, because let's face it. Test anxiety is a real thing and a real problem. This is also my preferred approach in the dojang. Every student is tested in every class. The "test" day is just a chance for them to show off in front of the other students.