By DAVID WILL
Sheridan High School Student
Editor’s Note: The Sheridan Student Column is brought to readers by Sheridan High School’s 10th grade English class, taught by Abby Williams.
We should get rid of standardized testing for many reasons. The definition of a standardized test, according to Google, is, “… a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or ‘standard’, manner.” Many people are against these tests, and I am going to tell you why I think they should be no more.
Standardized tests can be very stressful for some students. I know that I can sometimes worry about whether or not I will pass. According to nysut.org, “Last year’s testing season was marked by widespread reports by teachers and parents of students getting physically sick and emotionally distraught over the standardized tests. It prompted many parents to exercise the option of refusing to let their children take tests.” I think this can speak for many parents and students on how stress is caused by these tests. I think the fear of not passing can sometimes get to people and this can cause them to not do their best.
Online standardized tests, especially ISTEP, can be especially stressful for the reason that they are online. For example, in a math section, it is very hard to show your work when you have to type it into a text box. It isn’t as easy to show what steps you took to solve a problem. On a sheet of paper, it is easier to show your work because you can write it wherever you want and don’t need to use words instead of symbols.
It isn’t all that better on the English side either. Some kids can write with a pencil faster than they can type. Also, reading the passages on a screen can be more difficult than on paper. It can also be tiring on our eyes. I would much rather read a passage on a piece of paper than a screen.
Planning is also more difficult online. If the people making the tests are trying to save paper by making it online, it is just minimizing the amount of paper because they still give you multiple pieces of paper for you to write your work out on.
Time is something that makes standardized testing difficult to complete because some people work at different speeds. I find myself rushing through some problems that I could easily take a few more minutes on further explaining my answer, but time just doesn’t allow it. Also, there are some questions that take more time to solve and explain, causing them to take a decent chunk of your allowed time. Some students struggle to finish the test and this can affect whether or not they did well because they didn’t finish.
Teachers also don’t like standardized tests. They don’t like them because they feel like all their students don’t learn in the same way, and they feel that it is an unfair judgment on their teaching because not all students pick up the material the same. Some students may struggle and others may succeed, and that isn’t necessarily the teachers’ fault.
For these reasons I believe we should get rid of standardized testing. Overall, they are not liked by students and teachers and can be very stressful. The time restrictions can make it hard for some students to finish because we all work at different speeds. This can make it unfair to judge the students’ scores without them being able to finish. They also have changed to online which have made tests more difficult.