For students of any age or grade, taking tests can be a weekly obstacle to overcome. The most worrisome aspect of taking tests for students is whether or not they will know the content on the test and what grade they will receive.

“They [tests] make me really nervous and stressed out 24/7–every single day of my life. Especially when I have it the day of, I can’t really focus a lot,” Junior Kiana Mikami states.

The problem with testing is that it stresses students out to the point that they do not perform well, even if they know the material.

“If I study really hard, then I understand it, but if I don’t understand it and it was really hard to study for, then it’s hard […] to understand. And when I do understand it, there’s like ten minutes left for the test,” Sophomore Zoe Barba states.

However, the question isn’t whether or not tests are hard, but whether or not tests reflect the intelligence of the students.

According to Spanish teacher, Señora McPherson, “We’re not looking at intelligence, we’re looking at the subject matter and comprehension retention.”

Tests are about what information the students retained from being taught and how hard they studied, rather than what their class rank is or how smart they are. Students who receive all A’s can fail a test, and students who receive all D’s can ace that same test. It all depends on how long and hard the students studied for and whether or not they fully understood the concepts.

A common misconception about teachers and the tests they give is that teachers ‘don’t teach’ the material very well and their tests are unfairly difficult.

“For me, every test I have taken has put me in a state of mental or emotional strain resulting from very demanding circumstances. […] This means I usually reflected on what I studied and how I prepared for the test, which always lead me to determine that my failures were due to a lack of adequate preparation and not due to outside strains or stresses,” math teacher, Mr. Kissee states.

Students who fail tests are expected by the teacher to talk to them about their grade or work harder in the class. What some students don’t understand is that studying is essential if the student wants to get a good grade and without studying, they are risking receiving a bad grade. Intelligence is not reflected by the scores that are in the gradebook. Intelligence is reflected by what the student was willing to put into the score beforehand. Students feel that the image of tests reflect how they make them feel.

“Make it more fun. I feel like […] you don’t understand it or you don’t focus as much because people function in different ways […] I think we should try to find some different material and play a game with it…” Barba states.