Dear Future President,

Imagination that one state testing score had power over the future of your education. Well, welcome to modern (New York) society. You need to buy test prep books and then take the tests for practice. Overall, the whole system is outrageous. We spend so much money and time on something that is, on the whole, useless. This system should not be continued.

As a 7th grade student in NYC, I already have pressure on me to do well on the NY State Exams coming in 2017. I often feel sick before and after the tests because of my fear of failing such ‘important’ tests. Our Common Core system causes stress from students to principles, and parents, which no one wants. An example of this is when my brother was in 4th grade. 4th grade state testing scores matter because middle schools want the kids with 4’s because 4’s are the highest. He got so nervous during the tests that he threw up when he was revising his work. He was a mess and it was not a good day for him.

In addition, standardized testing also forces schools and parents to buy expensive test prep books instead of textbooks for classes. We (as a country) waste too much money and spend too much time on these tests, which last around 9-12 school days. According to a 2012 study by Brooking's Institution, states spend 1.7 billion per year on testing. That money should be put towards smaller class sizes so all students can get more one-on-one time with teachers to improve their work. To further our education, we should be buying books to improve our knowledge of classwork. While standardized testing causes an unreasonable amount of money, it also takes up an unreasonable amount of time. 

A 2013 study by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) shows that students spend over 110 hours per year on test prep and 50 hours per year on actual tests. That's 160 hours a year on tests in general!

All in all, students should not have to be stressed over a test score and that test score SHOULD NOT determine their future. Additionally, states should not be paying billions of dollars to support these tests. I propose that we limit the importance of standardized testing. This can reduce a lot of anxiety and stress. In addition to having extra funding money left over, we could put it towards classes like art, drama, music, creative writing, life management, and much more so students can express themselves.

I hope that this idea will be taken under advisement.

Sincerely,

Beatrix B.

Source:

ProCon.org. "Standardized Tests ProCon.org." ProCon.org. 31 Aug. 2016, 11:52 a.m., standardizedtests.procon.org/