In my years as an educator, I have spent the majority of my time with teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18, and I have come to one certainty: Teenagers say some of the most profound, and most entertaining, things you could ever imagine. A day doesn't go by that my students don't enlighten me with their genuine innocence or entertain me with their youthful ignorance. For that reason, I believe there is so much we, as adults, can learn from today's youth. So, I decided to not only empower my students, but give them a forum where they can freely, and without judgment, share their thoughts, views and opinions on the topics that are current and being discussed in the mainstream media. Be prepared, because I can never predict what they may think or say.
So, here is what my students think about standardized tests:
"I think they are too much. Students have enough homework, projects, quizzes and other tests to worry about, and they don't need to be pressured to take a test that contains things that they might've forgotten." -- Vernice, 10th grade
"I think standardized tests are a waste of time and money. Life is more open-ended, not multiple choice." -- Brandon, 10th grade
"Schools now teach their students only on what they think will be on the tests. It's not fair to our education. We should be learning for ourselves, not for others." -- Erika, 10th grade
"I think that they are truly pointless. It doesn't tell how smart a student is because some people don't work well under pressure and stress." -- Leshay, 10th grade
"I do not think students should have to take standardized tests. The performance of students throughout the school year should depict their level of academics... Students also retain a lot of stress while taking these exams." -- Arber, 10th grade
"To be honest, standardized testing is useless because it's supposed to show how smart someone is or whatever, but it's not actually accurate." -- Nervens, 10th grade
"I believe that tests are not the best way of going about seeing how smart a student is. Many students tend to freeze up on tests even when they know their work." -- Jordann, 10th grade
"I believe that standardized tests put us in different categories and separate us as students. We need these tests to differentiate the students." -- Jada, 10th grade
"I feel that standardized testing isn't really useful for students. In my opinion, students take hard tests but, in the future, we won't remember any of it." -- Cathleen, 10th grade
"Standardized tests do not test a student's knowledge whatsoever; they test memory. Then students cheat because they are more about grades than learning." -- Gabby, 10th grade
"I think standardized testing is necessary because it preps you for the SAT's and HSPA." -- Brian R., 10th grade