Declaration of the Dishonorable Discharge of Current Standardized Tests | Teen Ink

Declaration of the Dishonorable Discharge of Current Standardized Tests

October 26, 2013
By The_Capricornian GOLD, Marietta, Georgia
The_Capricornian GOLD, Marietta, Georgia
12 articles 0 photos 30 comments

Favorite Quote:
There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed. - Ernest Hemingway


In the life of a student, it becomes necessary to take a test of knowledge; but that test of knowledge means nothing when it is biased towards reality and forces one way of thinking over another. So it becomes of paramount importance to rid of that type of test when it comes around, and to implement a new one.


We hold these truths to be axiomatic, that great minds don’t always think alike, and that the best way a person should be examined is to not look at his/her overall appearance, but to look at individual pieces of him/her. Also, to secure a basic function that dictates if a student can apply knowledge or not, standards are placed, and tests are created off of them. And when any form of these standards fail to communicate what is tested upon, it is the ultimate right of the people to alter or replace these standards and tests, and to replace them with new ones, laying their foundation on reality-grounded principles, and forming it into a fashion that not only pleases test-creator’s wallets and the State, but also the students and teachers as well. True, small disagreements with the subject and material does not juristic a massive alteration to the standards, but when they fail to help teachers teach and to correctly guide students down the path towards future success in their life, it is the people’s right, it is their obligation, to unshackle the burden that is oppressing them, and to provide new measures by which our future generations shall be tested by. The recent history of standardized tests is plagued with deceit and deception by the producers of these standards which lead to the bewilderment of the teachers teaching these classes, and ultimately, the premature absolute failure of the students taking them. To prove this suffering of which we students and teachers have gone and are going through, let the facts of standardized tests be stated to the common man.


They have unfairly decided if students are smart, or able enough to continue on to the successive grade.

They have made the smartest of students cringe from boredom.

They have restricted students to “thinking inside the box”.

They have given useless scores and grades of the students’ tests to teachers.

They have forced teachers to “teach the test”.

For stripping teachers of their ability to implement their creativity into the courses of which they teach.

For falsely simulating how problems in real-life are displayed.

For setting what needs to be known and not, and failing to thoroughly test entire sections of those requirements.


We, therefore, the many students and teachers of America, assembled, appealing to our subconscious reasoning for the righteousness of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of our many peers, solemnly publish and declare, that these united people do dishonorably discharge current standardized tests from our curriculum, and do replace them with tests that benefits not only the writers and publishers of the tests, but the body of students and teachers as well. For logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.


The author's comments:
I originally wrote this back in 9th grade for my government class, but it turns out that teacher stole the idea from my 10th grade Lit. teacher. So all I did was take the old version of this, and made it longer and prettier. (F.Y.I. This was made with little research besides what I knew, felt, and googled, so don't come beating me up if I have something drastically wrong.)

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This article has 1 comment.


on Nov. 14 2013 at 8:19 am
ChristianGuild GOLD, Grand Ledge, Michigan
17 articles 0 photos 9 comments

Favorite Quote:
Perception is reality.

Amen to that! Flowed amazingly, and stealing the form of The Declaration of Independence, whether your idea or the teacher's, was genius! And you made it work! Five stars and a job well done :)