Why Make a Student’s Day Harder?: On Fewer Statewide Tests by Jessica Xu (G9) Why Make a Student’s Day Harder?: On Fewer Statewide Tests By Zi Han (Jessica) Xu Grade 9 Imagine sitting in class, staring dumbfoundedly at the unsatisfactory test score the teacher just returned to you, which makes you so ashamed. There are also other upcoming tests, and so when you return home, you are studying so hard late into the night and hardly got enough sleep. The next day, you can hardly keep your drooping eyelids open. This brings up the question: Why make a student’s day at school harder than it already is? Students should feel encouraged and ready to learn, not worried about tests. There should be less statewide testing; statewide testing only increases students’ stress levels, adds more pressure on teachers, and test scores don’t show how smart or dumb a student is. First of all, students’ stress levels are already sky-high, and tests are only worsening that. This is supported by a group of researchers who found that, “on average, students had 15 percent more cortisol in their systems … before a standardized test … Students who showed the largest variations in cortisol … tended to perform worse on tests than expected …” Cortisol is a hormone associated with stress, and can show students’ stress level and how it affects their time in school. This evidence highlights how these tests only add to students’ stress levels, as supported by evidence that researchers have found during a study. This study supports the idea that standardized state test only has negative effect on students, including increased stress levels, bad test scores, and low performance. Additionally, schools face pressure to improve test scores, which forces them to focus on “teaching the test” resulting in extensive test preparations. Which can also lead to teachers losing time in class to teach what they are supposed to teach. “Teaching the test” means that teachers have to spend huge amounts of time each class to teach what a test is on and the questions that it might ask. This emphasizes that many teachers are under the pressure of having their students’ do well on the test, so they need to spend time “teaching the test”. Accurate information from the teachers themselves about the pressure that they are feeling just to improve or have students do well on standardized state tests, greatly supports this idea. Furthermore, the article Educators Feel Growing Pressure for Students to Perform Well on Standardized Tests states that, “Nearly 80 percent of educators said they feel moderate or large amounts of pressure to have their students perform well on standardized tests.” Last but not least, standardized test scores don’t show how smart or dumb a student is. However, a more efficient way of testing is using performance-based assessments. This is better for both students and teachers. One reason is that teachers won’t have to spend much time preparing for these and take up their time to teach in class. Another reason is that it is a more methodical way to showcase students’ knowledge and their growth. This is supported by the article Standardized Testing is Still Failing Students, which states that, “Performance-based assessment is equitable, accurate, and engaging for students and teachers.” On top of that, some examples of performance based assessments are designing and presenting a presentation about a topic discussed in class or conducting a science experiment that exhibits students’ ability. Some may say that statewide testing is the only way for teachers to know if a student is actually learning in their class, but it takes up a lot of class time for teachers to give these tests to students and takes time away from students because they need to study for these tests. Think of it this way: Why replace exciting, cooperative class time with boring, pointless tests? Why take away students’ fun and replace it with constant studying? Hence, we should have less statewide tests, but more performance-based assessments, since they can better test whether a student is actually learning. In conclusion, there should be less statewide testing. It not only lessens the weight on the shoulders of students who are already very stressed and have no room to worry about tests, but it also reduces the pressure put on teachers. Adding on to that, standardized state tests do not accurately show students’ intelligence. So here’s the final thought: Would you rather have fun classes and not be anxious about failing a test, or get into a panic every few times a week because you have an upcoming test that you have not studied for?
