Dear Mr. or Madam President,

My name is Cheyann Bates and I am a senior at the East-West school of International studies. I am in a class called participation in government and we are focusing on issues that matter to us. Millions of students across the country and the world take standardized tests. The purpose is to evaluate  a student's ability and to see if they are eligible to reach to the next level. Students spend several hours, days, and weeks studying for these tests because they know that it's very essential to their school career and future. However, standardized tests does not properly evaluate a student's critical thinking skills and seems unfair. 

I have been taking standardized tests since third grade, and for a long time, I didn't really understand the importance or purpose of the tests. I knew that I was required to take it, but I did not know the extent in how important it was. In New York, high school students take the regents exam for certain classes. All New York high school students have to take and pass the English,Living Environment,Algebra, global history and United States history regents. Then, there is an advanced regents diploma, in which you must pass the required tests as well as geometry, trigonometry, another science exam such as chemistry, and a language other than English exam such as Japanese.

One of the reasons why American schools are increasing the standards for public school students is because they want to compete with schools in Asia, such as South Korea. Although South Korea is ranked as the best education system in the country, the country also has a very high suicide rate. These standardized tests put immense pressure on students. I do not want our country to become a place where we prioritize grades over the mental health of students. The whole point of providing education is to prepare the youth for the workforce and shape them to be kind and productive citizens. One solution is to have teachers give finals instead of statewide tests. 

Thank you for reading.

Sincerely, Cheyann Bates