Stop teaching, start testing

With SAT testing, Smarter Balanced testing and AP testing, high school juniors could spend four straight weeks taking tests, and that’s not enough.

Teachers need to stop teaching and start testing. What’s the point of having students in the classroom if you don’t know their worth? It’s important we label them early and often. Besides, the kids need to know, too. This is the most impressionable time of a young child’s life, a time when they’re trying to shape themselves into human beings, so it’s important that we label them as a success or failure because this data will go a long way toward helping students shape their identity.

Most importantly, this is about getting back to the basics: treating people the way they deserve to be treated. If a kid fails, then treat him like a failure. If they succeed, treat them like a success.

So I propose we test every day; that way we can be sure students have the information they need to appropriately develop their self-esteem (or in some cases develop no self-esteem at all. I’m looking at you, failures). And teachers can treat them as such.

Tyler Ham

Spokane