AP, SAT, PSAT, MCAP – all are acronyms for standardized tests, which are a big part of high school. Some define a student’s final grade, while others measure their college and career readiness. Of these assessments MCAP is the only one mandatory for students to graduate from a Maryland high school, but many think that these tests should not be a measure of retained knowledge or readiness.

The purpose of the standardized tests is to “make sure that students are ready to go into a career or to go to college,” shared Amy Pyles, the College and Career Readiness Specialist.

“[The tests] are looking at basic skills that all students need to have,” Pyles stated. 

“Assessments are used to determine whether students are succeeding or not at a school, and also to measure whether we’re teaching what should be taught in those courses,” OHS Principal Bill Caulfield stated.

Caulfield explained that the tests are a way to hold teachers and students accountable for learning, but a lot of Oakdale test takers do not think that this is a fair way to assess their abilities. 

“Overall, it just seems like a really tedious process that isn’t really necessary,” Freshman Evah Long describes.

Sophomore Ashton Immer shared his experience taking standardized tests as well. When considering that passing some of these tests is required for graduation, Immer suggested that grades and assignments should be considered for college and career readiness more than tests, since he and many others get excellent grades in class but aren’t good at testing.

Both Long and Immer believe the tests are used to benefit the school system more than to benefit the students who take them. Caulfield mentioned that if students understood how the data is used to improve teaching methods they would want to perform better.

Ultimately, there are other ways for students to determine their college and career readiness and meet the needed requirements to graduate high school. 

“In the meantime, just do your best. What I ask of all the teachers and students is we do our best everyday and bring 100% of what you have everyday into the classroom. If we do that, that takes care of 99% of the issues,” Caulfield encouraged.

Many agree that the standardized testing process should be modified to cause less stress for students and to have faster results.

The idea of standardized testing is very controversial, but instead of removing the tests completely, some improvements could be made to make both school staff and students more comfortable and motivated when it comes to testing.