How would you feel if you went home knowing you could not go anywhere after school, but all your friends are hanging out? Well, many people have very strong opinions about this, and some want to share. It is seen that most students find a single test to be very stressful and really take over their extracurricular activities after school. Recently, students have started getting up to four tests in one day. Students are getting too many tests in one day, which is harming their mental health, causing the students to have no free time after school, and lowering their grades by a significant amount.
Today, statistics show the story for students who have multiple tests in one day. “Information we found showed that testing later in the day increases rapid drops in results —from 2.7% (7 a.m.) to 8.5% (1 p.m.) in math, and 8.5% to 15.5% in reading. Students face increased anxiety, sleep deprivation, and lower scores” (Wise). This clearly shows how students who have multiple tests in one day fail to check the simple boxes that result in a happy life with sleep deprivation, lower marks on their tests, and more stress on their mental health.
In addition, many students at Edison Intermediate School have strong opinions about the assessment situation at school. One eighth grade student, Liam Mroz, stated, “It takes me around an hour to study. For me, studying for multiple tests on the same night is very challenging. It is also very tiring.”
Also, another seventh grade student agreed. He said, “I have to study for about 30 minutes for a test, and I believe it is bad and stressful. One test is already bad enough, and more than that makes my day awful.”
This clearly demonstrates that having multiple tests in one day impacts kids way more than you think. Going forward, this will cause them to spend the whole night studying, leaving no time after school to do other things.
However, eighth-grade Special Education teacher Ms. Stephanie Grajales has a firm opinion on the topic. She stated, “Although it may seem like a lot, I also do believe a couple of tests in one day is good preparation for high school, college, and the rest of your life.”
Adding to this, another student had somewhat the same idea. Eighth grade student Gavin Welsh said, “It takes me 1-2 hours to study for a test, but I believe that if you prioritize your work, then it is fine. Although it is definitely stressful and tiring.”
Research clearly reveals the harm to students’ grades that comes with multiple tests a day. “During school, many might find themselves sitting from one class to the next, taking test after test while struggling to remember 1,001 important facts” (Balasubramanian). This shows that it is very hard to memorize many facts over a 7-hour school day.
Math Teacher Ryan Belline also admitted, “I think test results are not as good when students have multiple tests in one day.”
All in all, students feeling stressed, having to do much more studying, and the decrease in grades are the main reasons that multiple tests in one day impact students. Many students and people around the country agree with this reasoning, which further shows why students don’t deserve to have multiple tests in one day and how it impacts them greatly. If schools are truly dedicated to helping students improve, they should make the change that prevents students from taking multiple tests in one day.
