We all remember it, sitting down with a number two pencil and a beast of an exam. The teachers droned on and on for weeks about how important it was to eat a good breakfast and sleep eight hours before testing. But what is the point of this continuous testing? To measure where we are academically compared to our peers? Or to evaluate the teacher’s efficacy teaching wise?

Whatever the case may be, students have been taught from a young age that standardized testing was one of the most important parts of their academic career. Standardized testing is just one way to measure knowledge. Testing isn’t the best thing for some; for me, I stress out so much that I don’t do as well as I should.

Studies show that there are three different types of learning: listening, seeing and kinetic. Testing works best for people who learn by seeing, so the kinetic and listening learners get the short end of the stick. These tests shouldn’t be the end-all be -all. There are many other kinds of smart people than those who test well. The creators of these tests should tailor their exams to fit the needs of students and the different learning types, maybe add a section where you listen to spoken pieces of literature, or science terms, and then answer comprehension questions, or a hands-on lab for the kinetic learners.

I dislike the notion that testing is the only way to get into college. It definitely is a strong factor, but it shouldn’t be this thing that people stress out over for months and months. What if someone had a bad day, and just couldn’t test well? It is important to study, don’t get me wrong, but the test shouldn’t be the end-all be-all.

There are some benefits to standardized testing. The tests compare everyone on the same level, so it is extremely easy for colleges to pinpoint the academic prodigies for their school. The test only lasts a few hours, and then it is over.

Standardized testing is only one measure of progress, and while it is an important part of your high school career, and you should try your best, don’t kill yourself over it.