Articulate 9-year-old speaks out against test that causes students unhealthy stress
Florida now has a standardised test that inflicts almost unhealthy levels of stress and pressure on students.
Singaporeans, do you find it familiar? (Ahem, PSLE)
Well, a nine-year-old girl Sydney Smoot gave a speech expressing her unhappiness in front of the school board at a meeting.
As she stood, poised and calm on the rostrum, she perfectly articulated her feeling as to why the test doesn't measure her abilities and is also very stressful.
She said: "This testing looks at me as a number. One test defines me either as a failure or a success through a numbered rubric.
"It doesn’t take into account all of my knowledge and abilities, just a small percentage."
Sydney even had a suggestion:
"Why are we taking most of the year stressing and prepping for one test at the end of the year when we should be taking tests throughout the year that really measure our ability? My opinion is that we should take a test at the beginning of the year, middle and end of the school year to accurately measure what we know," she said.
And this is something many students here will relate to:
"The stress and pressure that this testing puts on me and I’m sure most students is not healthy. Why should we have so much stress about one test when we should be learning and having fun in school. With all this testing in school, more fun things in school such as recess are being eliminated because of all the training for the test."
Source: Washington Post
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