The reality of testing

Testing–a word many students get haunted by. Many fear the word “testing” because they think that taking these tests are a waste of time. Many students take many tests, such as the SBAC or an AP test, or probably just a test in general.

But what are you getting from that test, is it really with the time and effort to do that test right? I recently took the SBAC test and I am soon going to take an AP test because I’m taking an AP class, but is the AP test or the SBAC test gonna affect my future if I either do good or bad? Should I actually try or should I just ignore the test and just guess on the whole thing?

Many think that tests are a big waste of time because a test cannot determine the capability of a student. Many are better doing something verbally or physically, rather than writing or filling in the blanks on a sheet of paper. Some people or students don’t do well on tests because they can’t focus on the material on the sheet of paper or they do better without writing or filling in the blanks.

There are many companies that make up these tests in order for us to take them, but how do we know that the people who make these tests don’t mess up or they make up problems that don’t even make sense? For example, in a school, they gave out a test where the people who made the test up they made up a really weird question for elementary school students and half of them didn’t even understand the problem. The students then showed the test question to the teachers and even the teacher thought that the question was bad.

In the years that I have been in high school, I have taken at least five minor tests that test my knowledge for a grade, and I can tell you that I knew more about the material, but the questions were really weird and that led me to get low scores on those tests. Overall, the number of tests that students take during the period they are at school is well over 20; many of which don’t really affect the way students think or act–most is to place them in the level of class for their next year in school.

Now those are the tests that I feel aren’t a waste of time because the school gives you these tests to determine your level of knowledge in order to place you in the class that’s is at your level. If they just put you in a random class, those students might have a higher level of knowledge that you may have, and some others may be lower than you; that’s why I feel like the tests that determine your level of knowledge are good because they act as a tool so that the counselors and teachers are able to put you in the class that you are supposed to be in.

Overall, the variety of the tests that are given to the students nationwide have both benefits and disadvantages. I hope that sooner or later these tests will be better and more accurate because at the moment it, doesn’t really express our knowledge.