There is great concern for students’ health and well- being as a result of standardized testing. A large number of educators, child development experts, and adolescent psychiatrists had gotten together and signed a statement saying that they would advise against the additional testing required by the No Child Left Behind Act.
Many standardized tests are impacting students’ health. There was one school nurse who made the claimthat with an increase in the emphasis on standardized testing there had been an increase in anxiety related illnesses. Anxiety related symptoms include depression, sleep issues, headaches, vomiting, nauseousness, behavioral issues, and attendance decline.
This increase in anxiety is especially a concern for children with already existing mental health issues. Parents started speaking out about their fears and worries regarding the increase in testing and the impact it is has on their children.
One parent said that their friends’ children are having anxiety attacks and throwing up because of stress. Another father said that his son, who is nine years old, was unable to sleep for three days due to the pressure of the state exams. The fourth grader experienced vomiting, diarrhea, and extreme anxiety, all because of the pressure to do well. The poor child just wants a good grade.
School administrators in North Carolina report that they end up throwing out up to twenty test booklets for the sole reason that children had vomited on them. Principals from New York reported that it is not uncommon for children to lose control of their bladders, vomit, or just give up and cry.
Pediatricians are reporting that during times of testing, there is an increase in patients with anxiety and stress related symptoms. Children are having panic attacks and stomachaches. Because of this, the kids don’t want to go to school- can you blame them?
Instead of learning exciting new material to expand their minds, kids are forced to take exam after exam. They are being told how important these tests are and they feel as if their lives depend on it. Kids want to do well not only for their own good, but to make their parents proud, make their teachers happy, and fit in with their peers.
61 percent of psychologists agree that ever since the implementation of Common Core, levels of test anxiety in students has risen greatly. Disappointment, fear, anger, and helplessness are all feelings associated with test taking nowadays, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Especially in the middle school ages of eleven to fourteen, kids are dealing with a wide range of emotional and physiological changes.
In these delicate years of early adolescence, the pressure to have extremely high test scores adds a great deal of stress to the vulnerable minds of children. Today, schools and parents are encouraging and pushing their kids to excel in multiple sports and have a great variety of extracurriculars such as clubs and volunteer work.
The good news is that researchactually shows that engaging in activities such as physical exercise keeps people from developing depression. When people isolate themselves they ruminate and dwell on negative thoughts. Therefore, the busyness of students’ schedules may actually keep them from dwelling on the fact that they have so much that needs to get done.
I know when I was younger, I always had some sort of activity scheduled nearly every day of the week. During the week I would have activities such as soccer practice, basketball practice, cheerleading practice, girl scout meetings, piano lessons, theater rehearsals, etc. In addition to all of my activities, I was always an A student. It is easy to see why kids are so stressed.
The saddest thing is that a large number of students believe that no matter how hard they try, they will do poorly on standardized tests. Students’ perceptions become skewed by exam results. Students who achieve low scores will in turn have lower self- esteem and believe that they have little ability to learn.
These effects are extremely worrisome. School is supposed to better children’s lives and prepare them for careers and adulthood. Giving students large amounts of high stakes standardized tests can have an impact on their well- being. We need to find a balance between this all or nothing mentality when it comes to these examinations.
Sources:
https://psychcentral.com/blog/6-steps-for-beating-depression/
https://psychcentral.com/blog/the-psychological-effects-of-too-much-testing/
https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/eap/files/c._simpson_effects_of_testing_on_well_being_5_16.pdf
Really well written and you brought up some great points! Evaluating students by standardized testing is ignoring so much of what makes everyone unique.
While I agree that pre-college schooling certainly causes a great deal of stress for children, I do believe such experiences better acclimate children to the stresses of real life, and the pressures of a competitive job market.
This is not a discussion on pre-college exams (such as the SAT, or ACT) for high school students who are juniors or seniors in high school. This article is addressing standardized testing that is being forced on students as early as third grade. To put that in perspective: These children are as young as eight or nine years old. There is no reason (other than the huge amounts of money the Education Agencies are making) that any child should be sitting in a room for four hours to take a high stakes exam that often is not even designed by people who have worked with these age groups…