Rossman 1

Sydney Rossman
Wilkinson
English 100
20 October 2016
Putting Standardized Testing to the Test
Standardized tests are something that most young people today know about, have taken at
least once in their lives, and absolutely dread. On Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, John
Oliver speaks about the standardized testing system and its effects on students, teachers,
companies, and the United States as a whole. He argues that the system is corrupt,
counterproductive, and needs improvement. Oliver brings up many facts, shocking testimonies,
and horrifying stories to support his claims, but are they effective? Did he effectively use
rhetorical devices to create an inspiring and powerful argument? John Oliver produces a strong
argument that the standardized testing system needs reform by effectively using multiple
rhetorical devices.
This particular episode of Last Week Tonight

with John Oliver on the subject of

standardized testing aired on May 3, 2015. The first point that John Oliver makes about tests is
that they are detrimental to students. He shows the audience news stories that say that tests make
students stressed out, anxious, and often even become physically ill during the test. Why are
students so stressed out? Oliver argues that students take too many tests, which dont even
improve American nationwide scores. Oliver tells the audience that in order to improve these
scores, presidents such as George W. Bush and Barack Obama have simply implemented more
tests. After this, Oliver describes a process called value-added analysis that has made test results

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harmful to teachers as well. The next point he makes is about the unsatisfactory quality of the
tests. Oliver shows his audience multiple examples in which standardized tests do not accurately
reflect students academic abilities. Finally, Oliver shows how the only group that benefits from
these tests are companies such as Pearson, who have monopolies over the education industry.
He shows his audience evidence that Pearson has control over every aspect of testing, and does a
poor job of it. Overall, John Oliver argues that the entire standardized testing system is not
effective, because it is not benefitting anyone except for corrupt companies such as Pearson.
John Oliver frequently and effectively relies on logos to support his argument. He
logically backs up his claims with facts and statistics, which adds certainty and strength to his
argument. When he argues that standardized tests have negative effects on children, he quotes
several news sources and statistics to logically support his claim. He provides a snapshot from
lohud website which states that, Many districts in the Lower Hudson Valley report that more
than 25 percent of their students grades three through eight opted out of the state tests. . .
(0:02:00 - 0:02:05), a news report which shows that 1,700 students opted out of the PARCC test,
and another news story that describes an entire Junior class that boycotted the test. If students
are refusing to take these tests, it must be because they have some type of negative effects on the
students. Oliver next tells his audience that students take around 10-20 tests a year; which
amounts to about 113 tests by graduation (0:02:51 - 0:03:00). Then, to show his audience what
all of these tests do to students, he shows them a news clip that explains how children frequently
cry and throw up during the tests. As if all of this information wasnt bad enough, Oliver later
gives his audience some statistics about how companies are the only ones benefitting from all
these tests. He tells the audience that . . . Pearson, as of 2012 . . . had nearly 40 percent of the

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testing market; almost triple their nearest competitor. (0:10:59 - 0:11:08) Oliver states that
Pearson not only runs the standardized tests, but also controls the curriculum, evaluates teachers,
and owns many other tests. He provides all of this information just to show his audience that
companies such as Pearson have a monopoly over the testing system. All of these facts and
statistics evoke a sense of logic and reasoning in Olivers claims; making them much more
believable. There is no way to argue with the facts that he presents, because facts themselves are
defined as being indisputable.
Oliver expertly appeals to his audiences emotions in three different ways; the first, and
most prevalent way, is his use of humor. When he claims that students take too many tests, he
says, 113 is a lot of tests. It is approaching the amount that you would ask your doctor for the
morning after you woke up from a one night stand with Colin Farrell. Just...just give me all of
them, twice (0:03:00 - 0:03:10). By using this humorous analogy, Oliver explains to his
audience just how many tests students are taking. Later on in the show, he reinforces his point
that the standardized tests themselves are flawed by providing an amusing example of a test
selection about a talking pineapple. According to a news clip that Oliver displays, the passage is
about a talking pineapple and a hare who go on a race. All of the other animals think that the
pineapple must have a plan, and so they believe it will win. However, the hare wins, and the
story ends with the animals eating the pineapple. The moral of the story? Pineapples dont
have sleeves. (0:12:53 - 0:13:04) No doubt this story perplexed the audience as much as it did
to the children taking the test. The humor that John Oliver presents to his audience makes them
feel more intimate and engaged with the subject matter, and therefore more likely to be
persuaded by it. Humor provides a more lighthearted atmosphere, and also makes the audience

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feel just how ridiculous the testing system really is.

The second way that Oliver appeals to pathos is by shocking them with facts. The
statistics that John Oliver use in this show not only appeal to logic and reasoning, but also serve
to appall his audience. An excellent example of this is when he tells the viewers that Pearson
looks for test graders on Craigslist. Oliver says, Pearson chooses test graders the same way that
youd look for a mattress full of bedbugs. . . (0:13:39 - 0:13:44), which makes the audience
gasp in horror. John Oliver shares these shocking bits of information to effectively support his
view that the standardized testing system is faulty. As Oliver says in his video, faults in the
standardized testing system are not acceptable when they, may be responsible for the future of
your child (0:14:13 - 0:14:15). The fact that standardized testing could be damaging to the
audience members children is upsetting and angering to Olivers audience, and it makes them
want to take action on the subject. Nobody wants to put their child in danger, and even if they do
not have children, they feel sympathy towards those who do. Why would they support a system
that could potentially ruin the future of the next generation? Oliver plays with his audiences
emotional connection to the future of their youth by startling them with facts about the dangers
of the standardized testing system.
The final, and possibly most effective way Oliver appeals to his audiences emotions is
by making them feel pity and sympathy towards victims of standardized tests. He presents a
video clip showing an 8th grade girl who, even though she got outstanding grades in her
advanced literature class, got a poor score on the FCAT test, and was removed from the class.
The girl, almost breaking out in tears, explains how her FCAT scores feel like a punch in the
stomach (0:09:57 - 0:10:15). John Oliver then displays another video that demonstrates the

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negative effects of standardized tests on teachers. A teacher, Luke Flynt, sorrowfully describes
how he had a student who was expected to have a score of 286.34, when the highest possible
score was 283. Even though the student ended up receiving a perfect score, Flynts ratings went
down (0:07:20 - 0:07:49). Both of these videos strengthen John Olivers argument that the
standardized testing system has negative effects on both students and teachers. They cause his
audience to feel sympathetic to those people who suffered because of standardized tests, and to
be upset with the testing system as well. The sympathy that the audience feels is significant
because once they have an emotional connection to the issue, they are more likely to be
persuaded by the argument presented to them.
Throughout the video, John Oliver uses many strong sources and his own credibility to
make his argument seem trustrworthy to his audience. Olivers credibility comes from the fact
that he is a renowned comedian who presents well-researched topics to his audience. Jorge
Ramos of Fusion says that, you [John Oliver] have more credibility than most journalists here
in the United States and, I would say, in many other countries. (Joyella, 2) In addition to
Olivers own credibility, his argument is reliable because of the sources he uses. He shows
multiple news clips from news stations such as ABC, CBS, and U.S. News. People generally
know and trust these popular news stations, and the credibility of the stations contributes to
Olivers credibility. He also uses experienced people as examples for his claims. For example,
he shows a video of Rick Roach, a former school board member, who describes the faulty FCAT
exam. Roach actually talks about his credibility in the video, saying, That test labeled me as a
poor reader. Now, I have a couple of Masters degrees, and Ive been reelected four times, and I
teach thirty-nine graduate courses at six universities in this country... (0:09:09 - 0:09:20) Oliver

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also shows a video of Todd Farley, author of Making the Grades and a former test grader, who
reinforces Olivers point that the test graders are not qualified. Farley has experience in the area
of test grading, and therefore is a reliable source for Oliver to use. All of these sources that
Oliver uses add to the credibility of his argument, which makes it more believable and effective.
If an audience believes that an argument is plausible, they are much more likely to accept the
argument as true. Because Oliver uses sources that are trustworthy and familiar, his argument
appears to be well-researched and credible.
The final thing that Oliver uses to develop his argument and make it more interesting to
his viewers is his style, which includes diction, tone, and analogies. Oliver chooses specific
words and phrases to evoke certain emotions from his audience. For example, he utilizes words
such as awful, unfair, stupid, absurd, ridiculous, human consequences, and horror
stories (Oliver) to make the audience feel angry and appalled at the standardized testing system.
All of these words are very emotional and have extremely negative connotations. These
connotations lead to the audience agreeing with Olivers argument against the standardized
testing system. Oliver also effectively controls his tone to match the topic he is speaking about.
When he describes significant facts to his audience, he uses an objective and formal tone. This
formal tone that he uses emphasizes the seriousness of the facts to his audience. It is also
appropriate when Oliver reports facts because it makes him appear knowledgeable of the subject.
On the contrary, when Oliver enforces a point, he uses subjective and informal language. He
uses a more incredulous and emotional tone that is heavy with similes, metaphors, and analogies.
His tone is effective because it appeals to his audiences emotions and helps them connect to the
point that Oliver is making. An informal tone also makes Oliver seem more relatable to his

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audience and concerned about his argument. Finally, Oliver uses analogies to better explain
certain topics and to bring emotion into his argument. He says that, Voting against No Child
Left Behind is like voting against no puppy left un-snuggled. What...what monster would do
that? (0:04:41 - 0:4:50) and, That pineapple item doesnt remotely work as a test question; it
barely works as a Doors lyric. (0:13:18 - 0:13:24) Not only do these analogies provide a laugh
for the audience, but they also communicate a deeper understanding of Olivers point. Oliver
effectively used his style to create a well rounded argument that appealed to his audiences
emotions and also made him appear educated and credible.
John Olivers entire argument is laid out near the end of his segment when he asserts that,
maybe it is time to put the test to the test. (0:15:53 - 0:15:56) This argument is thoroughly
supported with facts and statistics, has sufficient credibility, and appeals to the audiences
emotions in a remarkably stylized way. All of these rhetorical elements work beautifully with
one another to effectively build John Olivers argument that the standardized testing system
needs to be reformed.

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Works Cited
Joyella, Mark. Jorge Ramos: John Oliver Has More Credibility Than Most Journalists in the
U.S. TVNewser,
www.adweek.com/tvnewser/jorge-ramos-john-oliver-has-more-credibility-than-most-jour
nalists-in-the-u-s/262601.

LastWeekTonight. Standardized Testing: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO).
YouTube, YouTube, 3 May 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6lyuryvz7k.

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In this revision, I began by going through and changed all of my second person mistakes,
which seemed to be rather prevalent in this paper. After that, I edited sections that you pointed
out where I wrote in the past tense instead of the present. I changed a word choice errors,
attempted to fix a few citations, and expanded on where I wrote this. Afterwards, I added some
significance to the second appeal to pathos paragraph where you said that it lacked in
significance. I read where you said that my tone section mirrored my humor section, and
understand what you were saying. However, I kept it relatively similar to what it was before. I
changed my wording a little, in one sentence, but believe that it was a good point that I should
not take out of my paper.