I don’t think we should have state testing and here’s why. It’s been proven that students get high anxiety before the state testing/important tests which makes them panic and not do as well as they could have if there wasn’t as much pressure. According to learningsciencetists.org: “We also know that anxiety can affect cognitive processes through working memory capacity. Therefore, the general consensus is that test anxiety interferes with our working memory, which in turn leads to poorer exam performance.” This shows that the anxiety for the test can affect scores so why test us if the data is going to be inaccurate. State testing can also lead to stress,insomnia, depression, anxiety and much more. According to Lexialearning.com: “The stress from testing can extend beyond the classroom, impacting students’ overall mental health. Symptoms such as sleep disturbances, excessive worry, and even depressive symptoms  can manifest due to the chronic stress associated with frequent high-stakes testing.” This explains that even state testing such as the MCA’s can affect students outside of the classroom and could really affect them, and make them not be able to do the best to their ability. 

I do understand that state testing is important in some cases such as, seeing if the school is teaching us enough and making sure we understand what we’re learning, seeing how we progress/improve from the year prior, and even help us get into college. The thing that I struggle to understand is why we start the testing at such a young age. Students start taking state testing as early as 3rd grade, which is very early on in their life. According to betterhelp.com “Students taking standardized tests may experience stress, anxiety, shame, and low self-esteem, especially when they don’t perform well.” Which would mean the effects state testing has on students’ mental health is starting as young as 3rd grade. So do I believe state testing can be beneficial for some aspects yes, but do I believe we should start state testing as young as 3rd grade and make it more stressful with the students than it already is, no. 

The Humane Side of Testing: Cultivating a Stress-Resilient Classroom | Lexia.

The Relationship Between Test Anxiety and Exam Performance — The Learning Scientists

Standardized Tests And Mental Health: Information For Students | BetterHelp