With STAAR testing beginning next week, the stress levels for both students and teachers are at a high point. This is just one of the issues regarding standardized testing in the US. Does it help students or does it hinder academic performance?

To begin, standardized testing puts a great amount of pressure on students to pass. According to the American Test Anxieties Association, about 20 percent of students suffer from severe test anxiety with another 18 percent having a moderate form of test anxiety. Telling students that if they fail their standardized test then they will not graduate won’t help to decrease these percentages.

“The STAAR test gives me bad anxiety,” said junior Christopher Lopez, “It feels like a lot of pressure on me and I don’t know what to do.”

Furthermore, standardized testing-related stress forces teachers to teach kids how to take a test, rather than focusing on the material needed to be learned. Everyone’s had that teacher that focuses more on test taking strategies than anything else, and it’s not what students need. This would not be a problem if standardized testing wasn’t put on such a high pedestal.

“I don’t like it when teachers teach us how to take the STAAR test,” said freshman Samuel Cervantes, “it’s not all teachers that do this but for those that do, it gets annoying.”

In conclusion, standardized testing should not be held to such a drastic degree because it only creates a large amount of pressure on students and teachers. Teachers and students should instead focus on actually teaching and learning the material necessary for success.