Every day, we come to school to learn what our teachers have concocted for us, a plan that supports a greater purpose: The test.
You see, “test” is a vague term. You always hear of teachers “teaching to the test”, but as much as this phrase is thrown around, I have yet to hear one person question what “the test” truly is. Perhaps it’s because everyone just infers it to be either the AP test, the SOL or SAT.
Though they have different names, these tests are all similar in their purpose. These tests are meant to sort students, and see where they fit in on an overall scale. The tests can provide a snapshot of where each student is, and where they may go. Exams are taught to strictly to ensure
the reaping of good scores to represent our county or school when it is time for assessment.
Now, I’m not saying that I’m deeply opposed to testing. I think that testing is a good tool to assess where a student is in their understanding of a subject, and that’s all it should be: a tool. Grades and scores seem to be the end all be all in the competitive arena that is Fairfax County.
With over 180,000 students enrolled in FCPS, its easy to get lost in the shuffle, especially when that shuffle contains so many brilliant minds. Luckily, we have grades and testing to make comparing us (or rather, pitting us against each other) easier. Fun, right? It doesn’t seem that way to me.
Albert Einstein once said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid”, and I believe this to be true. Although we all may be tested equally, that does not mean we are all the same. Every person has different skills or interests, but this doesn’t seem to concern the test makers.
Our education system has gotten so convoluted; all of us so concerned with how our GPA’s compare on a scale, that we may be forgetting to actually learn and enjoy the experience that is high school. Grades and SAT scores are important, yes, but don’t worry if you aren’t a Chemistry genius, or don’t really understand trigonometry. Don’t live life solely focusing on what letter is written down on a piece of paper at the end of the day, and remember, you can’t always be the best at everything.