Kids have been taking tests since kindergarten, but are they really that important? Tests add a lot of pressure and stress on kids, and they can not perform as highly as they typically would. But teachers also need to know how well their students are doing in their class and tests are a good evaluation of their skills. When asked if tests are important, teachers and students often had different views on it.
All teachers felt that tests were necessary evaluations of a student’s skills. Mrs. Clive, an English teacher, felt that “Some form of assessment is important, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be a test. The feedback from tests are important in helping teachers and students see progress in developing skills.”
Other teachers felt that tests prepare students for their future jobs.
Some students felt differently. Gia, an 11th grade student, felt that tests were unnecessary and unfair because “not every student learns the same” so to evaluate them using the same test for everyone would not be helpful to all students.
Other students felt that tests were unfair such as 10th grader, Evie. She felt that “they are important but not always fair.” She felt that tests were unjust because they don’t take into account the students’ personal life. Something awful could have happened to a student the night before to put them in the wrong state of mind, but they are still tested as if they were perfect.
Students also complained about having so many tests on one day, which would make them stress out more. They felt that they tend to have days where they have a test every block. This makes them feel overwhelmed and perform poorly on all the tests. Having multiple tests in one day also makes the students feel as if their teachers don’t take into consideration their other classes. And now they have to study for multiple tests that they will all take on one day. It would be helpful if teachers could come together and share when their bigger tests are so that they can try to work out a schedule so that there aren’t too many tests in one day. Obviously, this system would not be perfect, but would definitely help students and improve test scores.
However, tests are still super important: they help both teachers and students gauge their performance in that class, and helps students know what they still need to study. Tests also help colleges pick which students they will accept. Tests such as the SATS help decide which college a student will go to. And these tests are important to the admissions process for most colleges.
I don’t think tests should be taken away completely, but maybe they should be updated and improved to help students instead of hurting them. Instead of giving students a pen and paper test, maybe teachers could assign more creative assessments. Students would still be evaluated on their skills, but have some more fun with it. This would likely get students more engaged with learning and try harder resulting in better grades.
