Excessive Stress, Extra Time, and Little Benefits

December 5, 2016

By Sarah Kline

Starting as early as the third grade in Massachusetts, students are required to take standardized tests to measure student performance and to make sure both teachers and the schools are accountable to taxpayers.

Specifically to Massachusetts, MCAS is introduced to students in the third grade and is an annual test up until tenth grade. Initially, the test scores students on their math and english skills through word problems, multiple choice questions, excerpts followed by questions, and long responses. Especially in the early years, a large amount of time is dedicated to preparing students to perform well on these tests. Following the countless practice packets and discussion on tips for testing, students will spend several days taking the tests. Although some students perform well on the tests, the substantial amount of time devoted to training takes away from significant learning time. The preparation and memorization skills taught during classroom time reduces the amount of time dedicated to precious education. While students go through memorization techniques that will only be beneficial for the test, time that could be spent learning about topics and skills that will help in the long run are being tossed to the side.

Due to the immense amount of time given to “teaching the test”, both students and teachers suffer from stress. Particularly in younger teens who are looking to apply to college, the heavy thought that if they don’t perform well they won’t get accepted can create a negative feeling towards learning and school; on average, most high school students reported that their stress on a daily basis was a 5.8 out of ten. The added factor of having to prepare and do well on the standardized tests along with the other tests they have to take for all of their subjects causes an overwhelming sense of stress that is often unmanageable in the average high school student.

Educators feel this sense of stress as well because the success of the school is often determined on how well their students do on these exams. Federal funds are given to the schools that have proven that their students are elite and can test exceptionally well. Teachers feel required to prepare their students so the school, the individual students, and themselves can be rewarded; however, this obligation often leads to teachers becoming stressed about their students and their success.

Standardized testing occurs on specific days of the year, which means that no matter the day the student is having, they are still required to take the test. Significant tests such as the SATs or the ACTs measure a student’s abilities on one particular day, not taking into account external factors. Factors such as being sick or simply having an argument with one’s parents in the morning could cause a student to perform poorly on a test that seems to determine one’s ability to get into a good college. Very smart individuals may not be excellent test takers due to stress or anxiety. Rather than just observing an intelligent student’s progress throughout the year to understand how they have grown, they must take a test on top of all the other assignments they are required to complete.

Attempting to measure both student and school success, the tests are written for the average student; however, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504), all students including individuals with special needs and learning disabilities are required to take the exams. Most students don’t have the option to opt out of taking theses tests, so they immediately are put at an unfair advantage. Parents have challenged school departments in order to get their children an equal shot at demonstrating their skills, but little has been put in place to make the test completely fair.

Questions following passages, such as those in the PARCC test (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers), are quite subjective and are graded by people from “all walks of life” (npr, Claudio Sanchez). Although there are guidelines and a rubric given to those who have volunteered to grade, their idea of what is correct and what matches the guidelines completely depends on them. There is a very strong probability that one of the test graders ideas of “correct” is completely different from the person grading right next to them.

Students are reducing their amount of extra curriculars and free time because of their strong desire to perform well, but with little free time comes stress. The school environment becomes boring and negative during the times of preparation. Rather than examining and comparing the progress of a student’s grades, another test is put on their plates.

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