If you received your elementary and middle-school education in New York State, you will certainly remember the New York State English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics tests from elementary and middle schools. The recollections that many of us have of taking these tests are not usually very fond: starting from the third grade, we were expected to sit for three straight days, two weeks in a row, examining passages that we may or may not have been interested in, and doing careful calculations—all culminating in two numbers, which would determine our “level” of performance. Well, as despicable as those tests may have been, my view is that opting out of taking them does you no favors.
The exams have stressed out families ever since statistics came out in August 2014 that, among the ICSD test takers in spring 2014, only 44 percent passed the ELA exam and 46 percent passed the mathematics exam. In spring 2015, we saw an increase to 47 percent of students passing the ELA, and 54 percent of students passing the math exam. These pass rates are still scarily low and make the tests seem unreasonable. Thus it’s no wonder that many families in the district opted out of having their children take the tests.
But we need to be more forward-thinking, because the future only holds more tests. Think about all the tests that you are forced to take in your classes: not only do you have unit tests for core subjects, but your year would typically culminate in at least a Regents Exam, which is not optional if you want to graduate with just minimal requirements. And what comes after you move on from the Regents? More tests! All juniors are encouraged to take the PSAT and many college-bound juniors and seniors decide to take the SAT or ACT, as requested by some schools. And just when you thought you were done, students who are in both the Regents and Honors classes can choose to take Advanced Placement classes starting as early as Freshman Year. Like many of the courses offered at IHS, these classes usually expect the participants to take the AP exams, which are offered to students all over the world.
Beyond the world of high school, those of us who decide to go to college will be required to take tests once more: the amount can vary, depending on what each individual specializes in (for instance, an Engineering student most likely takes more formal exams than a Creative Writing Major). But no matter what you go into for a living, you will generally be expected to take a test at least once. GREs are often recommended if you decide to pursue a field of study that requires graduate school. And farther in the future loom many professions that require you to complete state-administered tests if you want to get licenses or degrees (such as the Bar Exam for lawyers). The bottom line is this: tests are a constant of education, whether or not we fully agree with this fact on personal levels.
When kids are opted out of the earliest tests available, they have nothing but more tests in their futures, and consequently will have to start learning how to take them later on. Basic rules of psychology show that behaviors taught earlier on in one’s life lead to better cementation of them. The tests given at the elementary and middle schools are good ways to prepare for what we encounter later down the path of education, and refusing to take part in the valuable, although somewhat vexing, process will only result in more stress for the more important tests down the road.
This isn’t to say that I endorse how we use tests to measure ability—I believe that people can have wide ranges of abilities, many of which are not always shown accurately by numerical values. Nonetheless, no matter how irritating the ELAs and math tests are, they provide kids with valuable practice for other exams. So next time that you think about whether or not your elementary/middle school-aged relative should opt out of the ELA and mathematics exams, think twice about what that will mean for their preparedness later on.