Why Standardized Testing Hurts Rather than Helps Students
By Carson Titus
Every child who has gone through school has had to deal with standardized testing. We have been forced to sit still for long hours and aimlessly fill in bubbles on a daunting answer sheet with hundreds of unmarked circles. In most schools, the board does not enforce these tests; instead, state or local government workers decide that third grade is the time to start standardized testing.
Standardized testing for ten-year-olds doesn’t make a lot of sense, given that they can barely sit still for more than thirty minutes at a time. Still, they must sit in front of a test booklet and answer sheet for multiple hours, often with only a few short breaks. The older you become in life, the more you begin to question why you are doing certain things. Around middle-school, I began to think about why I was taking all these tests. How were they scored and how were kids being judged on them?
As my fellow students and I got older, standardized tests took on an even greater importance. The ACT or SAT can quite literally make or break a kid’s future. The fact that there are two tests that almost every college bases their admissions on is a very closed-minded system. Soon after the absolute mess that COVID caused, many colleges chose to change their admissions process to become test-optional, so students did not have to put a standardized test score on their common application. Although this was a small step against the forced taking of standardized testing, my classmates and I, along with most other kids across the country, were still forced to take the test. You could opt of submitting the score if you did not believe it would help your acceptance into the college of your choice.
Some schools and universities argue that these tests provide an avenue for students to prove raw ability even if their grades or other student records don’t reflect this. Still, this does not negate the stress and anxiety these tests can cause for many other students. Making tests like the ACT and SAT optional is one way to keep the opportunity to prove ability for students who need it, but to release other students with a strong academic track record from the added stress the tests cause.
In conclusion, standardized testing can have detrimental effects on a child's creativity, learning, and future opportunities. The high stakes attached to standardized tests, particularly in terms of college admissions, can create additional stress and anxiety for students and their families. Making standardized testing optional and using more data from a student’s high school resume would release the pressure that many high schoolers feel when it comes to getting into college.