With testing looming over teachers and students alike, the pressure to meet the high standards set forth by state and local educational leaders have got everyone sweating it.

   From end of course assessments to AP exams, teachers are cramming information down students’ throats in the hopes that they will be able to regurgitate the information on test day. But just how much do students really learn?

   We believe that teaching material simply because it is on the test doesn’t really teach students anything: they memorize it, spit it back out, and forget all about it. That is not education, which is what schools are called to provide for their students.

   In the article “Teaching to the Test,” the Carnegie Foundation, which serves to advance teaching and education, recognizes this “unsavory and simply dishonest practice of drilling students on the actual items that will appear on the tests,” but claims that teachers who do this do not constitute the majority.

   However, we disagree.

   It seems in all of our classes, testing takes the front seat to actual learning. But we know that it isn’t the teachers’ fault. How else will we pass these exams? We have to know the way they ask the questions, the format of the tests, the material the tests cover, and so much more. It seems there isn’t really time for us to focus on learning for learning’s sake.

   But it also seems that students don’t have much of an interest in learning anymore. Now that everything we need to know can be found at the click of a mouse or at the touch of a finger, now that smart phones exist, who needs to learn anything? Technology, though advantageous in many respects, has spoiled students. We no longer rely on our own minds but on the world-wide network of information.

   And what about critical thinking?

   As memorization becomes the predominant method of studying for tests which stress the knowledge of facts, the ability for students to think critically nears extinction. We are unconsciously molding the upcoming generation into a people who cannot problem-solve or communicate effectively.
   Granted, we know that not all teachers must teach this way.

   Several teachers stress the importance of reading, writing, and general communication skills. Our school offers courses such as AP English Language, which was new last year, AP English Literature, and Communications, among other courses, in order to challenge students who want to learn and grow in theses areas.

   In these courses, “teaching to the test” isn’t the main issue: writing takes a front seat to memorization. Students must write papers and articles; analyze poems, speeches, plays, and novels; as well as learn proper grammar. While the AP Exams are very important, theses teachers make the students practice these crucial skills every week in the hopes that practice really does make perfect.

   However, there is still the pressure of the test hanging over the heads of teachers and students, which causes a slightly tense environment in the classroom.

   Toward the end of the year, even the more laid back teachers administer practice multiple choice tests like they’re going out of style.

   The result? Students are burnt out on testing.

   While some form of assessment is necessary to make students pay attention and put forth effort, we think the testing requirements should be reconsidered by educational leaders. All of this testing may instill apathy in the students being assessed rather than a desire to excel.

   Perhaps the curriculum for classes should be slightly less extensive so that teachers are able to do their jobs without worrying about encoding the entire textbook in their students’ brains. It seems nearly impossible for teachers to cover everything the students are expected to know when it comes time to test their knowledge.

   Regardless, crucial skills such as critical thinking and communication skills should not fall by the wayside in the face of testing.

   If schools can churn out proficient writers, speakers, and thinkers with a good knowledge base in many areas, we consider that a job well done.