So you’re a 17-year-old kid sitting in this big auditorium, holding onto two number-2 pencils and a big elephant-shaped eraser. You have a nervous tick in your leg. As the little beads of sweat drip down your face, you’re checking the clock constantly for when the big hand will get to the four. It currently sits at the three. There sits the proctor, reading his science fiction/fantasy book while eating a pear and sandwich. Man, you’re hungry. There were three other kids in the auditorium, too, but they actually left. You’re the only one left.
Now your nervous tick is really ticking; and it’s ticking even louder (at least to you it’s louder) than the clock, which is still sitting at the three.
Yes, this 17-year-old kid is taking one of those standardized tests, which will show just how ‘intelligent’ he or she is. Nothing against these tests, as they are handled well to measure the degree of skill and proficiency in a student, but this is a textbook case of the kind of stress one might go through when dealing with a test like this: the nervous shaking, wandering mind, fear, worry, distraction, overwhelming feelings.
“But you’re saying that there’s nothing wrong with these tests!” Right. Really, there isn’t. It’s not the tests. It’s the way they’re taken. People are different. The mind of one person will operate much differently than another person. This, unfortunately, affects the results, sometimes in a major way. While it’s true every student will excel in something unique, making the standardized testing process something more proficient for a student to operate successfully in will help deliver more accurate scoring.
Even better, we can help eliminate that nervous tick, too, not to mention the hunger pains and the constant worship of the clock! Poor kid.