Are we Standardized?

In light of the ACT and standardized teasing season, I would like to devote a blog to these wonderful tests. At New Trier High School, the ACT dominates junior year. And what I mean when I say dominates, it literally hovers over everyones school year and is relentless if a student is not successful or happy with their score. At New Trier majority of students are privileged with the ability to be tutored for these tests, but most elsewhere students are not so fortunate. This leads me to believe that we aren't really competing with the country, we are really competing against our classmates.

The pressure of getting a good score on the test is monstrous. Not only for the student but for also the parents. They have a responsibility as well, to make sure their son or daughter is well prepared to take the test. But of that most pressure obviously relies on the students taking the test, we are expected to put in the effort to study for the standardized test, and please do not forget that we still have to juggle this important score with that old thing called the GPA. ACT is essentially another class to worry about, that has homework and requires much effort to study for it. With school and the test, it is basically a juggling act to keep yourself afloat in both areas. Juggling these two things not only takes so much time out of a week, but also causes a build up of stress which is the last thing needed to all our added work. Oh I completely for got to include in this workload an important term paper called the Junior Theme.  And it wouldn't be complete with all of the college tours you are supposed to squeeze in your next six months.

A number 1 through 36 is the label most colleges place on students applying to their school. Today you have to be above a 30 to really get the "pick" of most big ten schools. Any score above a 30 is not easily achieved, you have to be a well versed student, but also be a good test taker. The major problem with this test is that you have to be a good Essentially each student is being graded on their performance and not what kind of person they are or what they could possibly offer to a school. I believe that is unfair to many kids, with all this built up pressure the odds are not in your favor to show up on a saturday morning and perform your best for 4 straight hours in every subject in school.
performer. 

Is it not strange that desire should so many years outlive performance?

William Shakespeare