Each year in America, every student is forced to take multiple standardized tests with the purpose of measuring what they have learned. The irony is that these tests tend to do the exact opposite of what they were designed for. Many times when students score poorly they immediately label themselves as, “dumb”, or “stupid”. It seems as if American society has used standardized testing as not only a measure of learning but also a measure of worth. I too, among many other Naperville North students, am guilty of using a test score to determine a sense of self-value. It seems almost impossible for a student to not put emphasis on a test score when they are surrounded by an atmosphere that is constantly reminding them how important their score is. Students are told from the moment they enter high school that their SAT or ACT score is used to determine what college they’ll be accepted to. Which in the mind of a teenager also determines how the rest of their lives will turn out. While I do not think testing all together should be dismissed from schools, I do think it’s our job to stop putting so much emphasis on them.
At the beginning of my junior year, my parents and I decided it would be a good idea for me to start one on one tutoring for the ACT. I had previously taken the other required standardized tests such as the PSAT and PACT and my scores had marked me in the “below average” category. My parents had brushed it off, claiming “I was just a bad test taker” and that I was smart but my test scores didn’t always reflect that. It was a really bad feeling to receive my scores in the mail, just to open them and find out I was labeled based on a number. While I wasn’t thrilled upon receiving these scores, I somewhat brushed it off because I still had a year or 2 before I had to start seriously thinking about college. When my parents decided to sign me up for tutoring starting junior year, I was somewhat eager to take the ACT and be done with it. I began going to tutoring twice a week which took up most of my time after school but I already had the mindset that I was bound to get a “below average” score no matter the amount of tutoring I received. Going in with this mindset only made testing harder for me, but how could I feel confident knowing I was below average? My parents and tutor began to worry more and more about how I would be able to get into the colleges’ of my choice and as a result, I only became more stressed. They wanted me to figure out what college I wanted to go to, what they’re requirements are, if they superscore, and if I had any chance of getting accepted. It seemed like I had to somehow figure out the rest of my life just to take a simple test. Looking at the majority of my college’s requirements, I began to get nervous that I wouldn’t be able to get accepted anywhere. I began to feel less compared to everyone else, and it was like I really was “below average”. While it’s common knowledge that standardized testing isn’t a perfect system for measuring intelligence, I also think it’s important to consistently remind high schoolers that these tests aren’t everything. The reason these tests cause so much stress for teenagers is the amount of pressure and emphasis that’s put on them by teachers and parents. When I had finally taken the ACT for the first time in December of my junior year, I had not received the score I was hoping for. At this point, I had been spending 2 days a week preparing for it and even doing extra homework that was given to me by my tutor outside of school. On multiple occasions, I had woken up at 6 am on Saturday mornings to take a practice ACT for 4 hours with my tutor to make sure I was ready. I scored high on these practice tests but when it came down to the real ACT I cracked under the pressure-there was almost a 10 point difference between my practice tests and real tests. It seemed like I was capable of getting the score I desired, but sitting down in a chair for 4 hours, knowing that every college I apply to will judge me based on this score, terrified me. I had thought about the fact that my parents and tutor had always said the same thing, that I was just a bad test taker, but I had to watch my peers receive perfect scores. After talking it over with my tutor, she had informed me about something called test anxiety. According to the American Test Anxiety Association, about 16-20% of students have severe test anxiety and another 18% have moderate test anxiety. This causes students to blank or freeze on tests and also causes students to perform 12 percentile points below their peers (about half a letter grade below). With that being said, I think it can be concluded that it is unreasonable for anyone- including colleges- to label, base, or judge someone based on a test score. The teenage years can be a time of vulnerability and confusion and high levels of pressure can only add to that. I think it’s important to realize that teenagers are very irrational thinkers; one mistake to a teenager can feel like the end of the world. In order to solve this issue, I think it’s time to stop putting pressure on students when it comes to standardized testing. Instead, reassure them that one test doesn’t define how smart they are or what they will do with their lives. It wasn’t until just this past month that I had taken the ACT for the fourth and final time and finally gotten a score that I was proud of- which is a perfect example of needing to feel comfortable and less stressed in order to do well on a test.
As a high school student and someone who just very recently overcame the struggle of taking standardized tests, I think it’s important we talk about the pressure the ACT and SAT puts on students. It’s a topic being more and more talked about each day as more people are becoming more aware of it. I encourage anyone reading this, whether you’re a student or teacher, to take a step back and think about how a test score is just a number and how it doesn’t measure intelligence. I hope that in the future students will be able to take these tests and not feel the weight of the world on their shoulders.
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