The cycle begins again. The school year has just begun, and students are already being bombarded with the stress of testing. The joy of summer break has vanished and has now been replaced with countless worries and endless assignments. Student pressure is increasing as the desire to achieve the highest score possible accelerates. While the Miami-Dade County Public School system may believe that testing is the best indicator of knowledge, it can also have detrimental effects on students’ mindsets and motivation.
MDCPS’s fixation on testing can be seen through their recent changes to the school system. With the Florida Standard Assessment being replaced by the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking, exams are now given to students three times a year instead of once. This is intended to allow teachers to adjust their lesson plans based on the results of each test. In reality, however, it does not accomplish any positive change. Teachers do not have the time to change their lesson plans, as they are being rushed through their curriculum. This creates more student stress on top of the already demanding schedule that they experience, increasing anxiety while detracting from a student’s health and well being.
“Because these tests are given so early in the school year, it does not allow students to get accurate scores that actually reflect their academic abilities. The stress of standardized testing leaves students with little time to organize themselves and catch up in their classes, and this builds up with each test that they are given. Testing presents multiple issues for all students and teachers, and change must be implemented soon,” junior Hazel Grossel said.
Many students become anxious in response to an over-testing environment, with pressure continuously being placed on them to perform well. Whether the test is digital or on paper, the fear of failing is always in the back of a student’s mind. Rather than understanding the material they are learning, they must focus on what will be given to them on the test. Importance is placed on what score they will achieve, not on what they actually understand. The relentless cycle of testing can undermine a student’s motivation to learn, as their self-worth becomes tied to their results. This ongoing state of feeling overwhelmed eventually leads to burnout, as the tests continue to pile up with each day that passes.
“Having testing this early in the school year is absolutely crazy. Students need to have time to adjust and ease back into school. They should not be given a state test within the first few weeks, and I definitely believe the school system should wait a little longer so they do not overwhelm students,” junior Cooper Piedra said.
Time spent in the classroom is an invaluable part of all student progress but tests such as the FAST and Florida’s Benchmark for Excellent Student Thinking minimize this learning opportunity. Due to the endless supply of district, state and even national tests, there is a significant loss of instructional time. Teachers are forced to either condense or eliminate part of their curriculum as the time catches up to them. Having less time for material to be taught leads to faster paced classes, which places even more stress on students as they struggle to understand and keep up with their school work.
“Even though standardized tests are intended to help students, they actually take a lot of time away from their time in the classroom. Instead of focusing on their assignments, they are distracted by the stress of their upcoming test. There is no good reason why so many state tests are required, and they make it much harder on students to balance their workload,” junior Fara Lux said.
By the springtime, students have already experienced the trauma of countless tests. They are mentally and physically exhausted and ready for summer to save them. However, they are not done with testing just yet. Advanced Placement Testing and Scholastic Aptitude Test tests haunt their minds, as they continue to push themselves to memorize more information and to attain the highest score possible. The joy of learning has been ripped away from them, as they let their scores define their intelligence and future potential. There is no longer any excitement in the classroom, as students’ curiosity has been replaced by anxiety. If the real purpose of school is to foster a productive environment with an emphasis on learning, then why has testing become such a constant reality?
“When standardized testing is going on everything else in put on hold. Teachers cannot give lessons because their students are out of class, which causes them to gradually fall behind. Even after testing day, there are makeup testing days for students who did not complete it. Testing is not managed efficiently, and the stress that is associated with it makes some school days unbearable,” junior Alejandro Monroy said.
While Florida’s students have become accustomed to the reality of endless testing, changes must be made to ensure that they learn in a positive and encouraging environment. By reducing the focus on test performance, students will no longer struggle to maintain the balance between their school life and personal life. Perhaps a return to the good old days when testing was almost an afterthought would be better for all concerned. The endless anxiety of day after day of testing must become a bad memory rather than a day-to-day occurrence.
