By Madeline Brammer & Molly Palmer
The Oriole
Quincy HS
1st Place Division 4, News Writing
Pro-Con Editorial Columns
JUDGING CRITERIA
- Topics relevant to interests and/or welfare of school or students
- Two pieces, while offering opposing views, are consistent in style and tone
- Both pieces win reader interest with impelling leads
- Present evidence/interpretation in logical sequence
- State issue; uses effective examples, facts and comparisons to clarify
- Deal with specific issue; avoids preaching, rhetoric and clichés
- Show sufficient thought and knowledge of subject, developed with personal style
- Sentences, paragraphs of varied length; written clearly, concisely and vividly
- Proper diction/grammar
As exams approach, many students start to stress. In some schools, not everyone has to stress over exams. Some schools have policies where the students can earn their way out of taking exams. Quincy should consider doing this.
Students should not have to take an exam if they are well performing students. If a student already has maintained an A in the class, he should not have to take a test to prove he knows the information when his grade clearly proves that he is knowledgeable about the course content.
Pittsford High School has a policy where any student missing two or fewer days of school, excused or unexcused, may opt out of the exam for that semester in each class in which they meet this qualification.
Students who attend school regularly have been shown to achieve at higher levels than students who do not have regular attendance (nces.ed.gov). So having a policy that encourages attendance is good for the school.
While some claim that taking an exam over all the information helps people retain knowledge better, this is actually not the case. Just because students study the material, many students only retain the information for the test (aft.org).
University of Virginia psychologist Daniel Willingham conducted an experiment having students take one exam right after learning the information and then take the same exam again a year later. He discovered that students forgot 50% of the material by the second year (aft.org).
Another problem is that some students are just bad test takers.The ability someone has to take a test doesn’t reveal how much they actually know.
College professor Kevin Gannon says he witnessed more than a few students do “A” work all semester only to be derailed by one bad day during finals week (chronicle.com). Gannon also states that while exams may measure a student’s learning, they more often show which students were tired, stressed, sick, or overwhelmed and which ones are good test takers.
Test anxiety creates another problem. According to the American Test Anxieties Association, schoolwork and exams are reported by students as the most stressful thing in their lives.
Students who struggle with test anxiety typically fall half a letter grade below their peers. In addition to academic impacts, test anxiety can affect a student’s mental health, including lowered self-esteem, confidence, and motivation (oxfordlearning.com).
Some think that exams are necessary to prepare students for college classes. While exams may teach someone how to study, unit tests also accomplish the same thing. The way a person studies for an exam is the same way he or she studies study for a test, but he just has more material to study.
An alternative to traditional exams would be to apply the content learned in class in a project or paper that would make up the same percent of a student’s final grade. This would be less stressful because students would have more time to work on the project than the traditional three hour time frame of an exam.
Many schools are leaving exams in the dust and focusing on attendance and overall grades. Exams do not truly measure students’ learning, thus students should not be forced to take them. Quincy should consider implementing a similar policy.
Exams: one of the most dreaded experiences for a student. Many people believe the average student would choose to get out of taking exams, but believe it or not, some students would choose to keep exams in schools.
Some schools, such as Sturgis High School, allow students to not take an exam if they are missing two or fewer days of school. Schools should not use a reward system for getting out of exams.
Schools should continue to require students to take exams because it is in the best interest of the students.
After high school many students plan on going to college to further their education. Taking exams prepares students for the much longer and more stressful exams that colleges give.
In October 2018, about 69 % of high school graduates were enrolled in colleges or universities (www.bls.gov). High schools should prepare the students for taking the large exams the majority of them will be taking inn college.
Students can use test taking skills from high school to be prepared for the exams they will face in college.
Colleges also look at exam scores to see if they will admit students and use the scores to determine which students are prepared for the challenges colleges will give (professionals.collegeboard.org).
Most colleges require students to submit their standardized test scores in order to place them in the best classes for the students. They also use the grades as a way to evaluate the student’s consistency (studentaid.ed.gov).
Some argue that students who are going into the work force or military don’t need test taking skills; however, public schools have to think of what would be better for the majority of the students which is preparing them because many students are choosing to go to college.
Taking exams will even help students who don’t enroll in college right after high school because the students may decide they want to study at college later in life. Studying for exams also teaches self discipline which is a beneficial life skill.
Exams also force students to remember and retain knowledge that they have from the class or course. School and state leaders indicate exit exams hold all students equally accountable (publicschoolreview.com). This means exams make sure all students are learning the same material on the exams and are being held responsible for learning it.
Some may say that students who have an A or perfect attendance should not have to take an exam because the students’ grades show that they know everything. However, this only proves that students are able to retain knowledge for small amounts of time.
Taking exams has also proven to keep students from dropping out of high school. In states where exams are required and more helping opportunities for students are available, the dropout rate has decreased over the past four years (www.bloomberg.com).
Taking exams helps test takers retain knowledge for a longer period of time and better prepares them for life ahead, especially if students choose to pursue further education.
Schools should not create reward systems allowing students to get out of exams.