In a crowded classroom after school, students sit hunched over test prep books, their eyes glazed over with numbers and vocabulary—none of which they will ever use again. The values of academic progress and skills that will shape their futures are pushed aside and fade into the background. Their lives are measured in points, percentages, and rankings, each one reaching toward an elusive goal which proves insignificant in the grand scheme. This is the story of students throughout the nation in the race to produce the highest test scores on the SAT or ACT, a story that many of us may identify with. LM is a high-achieving school with even higher achieving students, driven to align themselves in a system that values compliance far more than genuine growth. Consequently, ambition becomes less about discovery or purpose and more about mastering the rules of a game that rarely awards original thinking. Given the finite time in high school, it is essential that LM chooses to allocate their resources towards academic enrichment programs tailored to students’ success in high school courses over remaining complacent in the cruel practice of standardized testing. Offering standardized test prep during or even after school hours isn’t about opportunity, it’s about conformity. It’s about making schools look good on paper, even if it means hollowing out the core of education.
As universities phase between test-required, test-optional, and test-blind, they prove the very fact that standardized testing represents only artificial merit.When applications are evaluated, these scores are not used to assess the student’s intelligence but rather the ability to mirror every other applicant in the pool. High school is an environment to promote individuality, creativity, and intellectual curiosity, but when that time is used for SAT or ACT preparation, those principles get lost in the monotony of bubble sheets and No. 2 pencils. The resources that would be otherwise consumed by test preparation could be repurposed towards programs such as math labs, literary workshops, or tutoring centers. Furthering these programs should be the main objective of our school in order to best help students succeed.
In a world of unlimited resources and endless amounts of time, both standardized test preparation and support for core high school education would be a perfect scenario, but that is simply not the world we live in. The world in which we live is one of competing priorities and tough decisions. Completely dissolving standardized testing is not realistic, which is why we must find a reasonable solution that does not compromise either. Having a complete and total separation of these two competing interests is the only viable path towards maintaining both.
With this in mind, we must also begin to understand that the skills gained through academic enrichment programs already contribute to the baseline knowledge necessary for these standardized tests. Mastering algebraic concepts in a math lab or developing a grammatical understanding in a literary workshop naturally aligns with the areas typically tested. By focusing on core subjects and enrichment activities, students are already developing the skills they need to succeed on standardized tests. High school education should nurture skills that are applicable beyond the test, such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and analysis.
While the many students at LM are bound for higher education, there are those who will choose other paths. By focusing on something other than the core education that they should be promised to all, what does prioritizing standardized testing over support that applies to every student suggest? Doing so prioritizes metrics over meaningful learning and neglects the unique needs of every student. Creating an equitable system is an obligation, not an alternative. Implementing standardized testing preparation into the foundation of high school would jeopardize this balanced system and leave some students unsupported, overlooked, and excluded from resources that they actually need to thrive, regardless of whether college is part of their plan.
The realities of today’s world demand that we prioritize resources that apply to all and support the core education of our student body. By shifting school’s focus away from test preparation and towards academic enrichment, we have the ability to empower all students to succeed on their own terms. By continuing to forgo standardized test prep embedded into our school, we can invest in an equitable system where every student can be supported. Our future isn’t defined by a number, so our education shouldn’t be either.
