Tests and more tests

Jimmy Biblarz, a student in the humanities magnet at Hamilton High, writes:

The term "over-testing" is a little misleading. Definitions of over-testing also differ among students, teachers, administrators and parents. I feel, and I can only speak from the perspective of a student, that over-testing exists and is detrimental to education. It is a rare occasion that I do not have a test or quiz of some kind.

An Advanced Placement class, four honors classes and Academic Decathlon make up my daily schedule, so a day that I don't have some exam is a blessing. Some teachers cleverly disguise them as "assessments," or "credit for your knowledge." Fill-in, short answer and multiple choice have slowly become my least favorite words.

The tests my teachers give me are good gages of how I am doing academically. While I begrudge taking these tests, knowing that they can and do come at any given moment has inspired me to work hard and study harder. The tests I have a problem with, like many of my peers, are ultra-standardized, state and College Board-sponsored multiple choice tests.

It's not standardized state testing I really have a problem with. It is the amount of testing. I understand that the state education department needs to assess whether fundamentals of course curriculum are being taught and learned. But teachers have begun to make these tests causes of stress among students: Make sure to study for the CST (California State Testing) had become a routine part of my day. The 10th-grade CST is 355 four-choice questions. 355!!! That is an insanely high number and not a good measure of how students are doing.

On top of that, I took two AP tests, which together comprised 180 multiple choice questions and five essays. On Saturday, I had two SAT subject tests, each 100 questions. That means in a month and a half, I have answered 735 multiple choice questions and written five standardized essays. This is over-testing to the fullest.

I don't believe we should eliminate standardized testing, just reform it. The state should get more teachers from all parts of California involved in the test-writing process so that the tests can better reflect how students are really doing academically. Also, the number of questions and time spent taking the tests should be cut. Having to dedicate two weeks of possible instructional time purely to state testing is ridiculous. Also, colleges need to be more conscious of the fact that AP and SAT tests are not really the best measure of how well students will perform.