You sit silently in the classroom. Sullen faces along with yours anticipate the tedious and challenging MCAS assessment. Your shoes tap and you look nervous, knowing this could decide your academic future. You finally receive the test. You know the topics, but your mind draws a blank. You perch there, perturbed about whether you will pass your grade. But why should these state created tests have such an influence on whether you pass your grade or not? How do these tests show a child’s full range of knowledge? Standardized tests should not be a requirement to pass certain grades as these tests display only a small range of knowledge, they don’t factor in reasons why a student might not perform well, and these tests provoke stress. In contrast, …show more content…
Research tells us, “There are many external factors that play into how well a student can perform on a test,” (“Pros and Cons of Standardized Tests”). These factors include bickering with a relative, a bad night's rest, or a bad breakfast. These things can cause mayhem with a child's mind. An argument might last in their mind all day or a bad night's rest might provide low energy for the student. With these ideas in mind, why should standardized tests declare if a child passes, if these common factors are relevant in possibly every child? Besides these factors, one important factor messes with a child quite frequently. Test anxiety is one of the most common reasons for why a child might not pass on a standardized test. Investigation provides us that test anxiety is a disorder in which people experience stress and feel nervous when taking an exam (“Test Anxiety”). The affect this disorder can have on people is unreal. Test anxiety can cause kids to worry about failure and that may translate to their scores. It is known that people with test anxiety score less with those who don’t. So even if a very bright kids scores poorly due to test anxiety, they are held back. This just proves why standardized tests should not be a requirement to pass a certain