Standardized Testing — Why It May Not Be As Boring As You Think It Is
You eagerly wait outside of the dreary, drab classroom with a pack of HB pencils, snacks, and water in your hands, to stop them from shaking. You can’t lose the feeling of nervousness, no matter how many times you try to stop it. You’ve studied for it for at least a month now, and took vigorous practice tests in preparation for today.
I bet most high schoolers have gone through this, at least by a few times by now.
Standardized testing has been a keystone in our education ever since the 1950’s, when people were trying to develop young people not to be soldiers and nurses, but to be scholars and specialists instead. The two most famous standardized tests, the SAT and ACT, were founded shortly after the foundation of the modern IQ test (by Binet and Stanford) to evaluate student’s intelligence.
As many people know nowadays, the SAT and ACT won’t cut it in college admissions. There are also the four-hour AP exams, which have been gaining popularity lately with test takers in high school, in hopes of skipping introductory college classes. In addition to all of this, there is also the PSAT and SAT II. The PSAT can be compared to a beta, mini version of the SAT, and also allows students to compete for the prestigious National Merit Scholarships. SAT II lets people applying to college to show their prowess in various subjects ranging from Chinese to Physics.
So far, I’ve only covered a portion of high school standardized tests, but there are way more standardized tests on the list. But, why? Why are these tests so important? Why do we have to write them every year, only to get a score that’s “not good enough”?
The answer to all of these questions, for high schoolers, is college. We all want to go to college, pursue a higher degree of education, and ultimately get a good job with a high salary. We want to achieve these things for many different reasons: a fear of being left out, parents, or just your self-regard. We all want to succeed in, what I call, the “College Dream”.
Going back to standardized testing, the industry has boomed into a $4.5 billion dollar industry, with major practice test/book publishers Kaplan and Princeton Review on the front lead, dragging smaller specialty businesses behind them. This unusual field has grown into a strange plant, with roots and branches reaching many places, such as books, online testings, tutoring sessions, testing centers, and many, many more.
I think that what we should all conclude from this is that standardized testing should be taken way more seriously than how we view it right now. Many people regard standardized testing as “not important”, “not an issue”, and“you shouldn’t worry about it right now”. That may sound comforting, but the harsh light of reality lights up the truth that you should put in the time, effort, and money into studying for these exams. It’ll all pay off in the end when your test score scored you a spot in your first choice university.
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