By Leah Schroeder ’13

Testing days have become a thing of the past and students aren’t happy. Previously, each department could only test on specified days of the week. This year, however, teachers test when they want, and though students have voiced concerns, the leadership team continues to refuse to reinstate the old system.

Even so, the students’ concerns haven’t been completely ignored. Students are encouraged to talk to their teachers when they see tests piling up and teachers have been asked to be more flexible.

Even if students get what they want, the return of testing days, it is unlikely that it will have the desired result. In the past, teachers would often ignore the set testing days and test when they wanted, meaning students could still have multiple tests in one day.

Is it easy to have three or more tests in one day? No, it’s not, but it’s not impossible either.  If students are that stressed about having more than two tests, the maximum number possible with testing days, the lack of testing days isn’t to blame. It’s the student’s lives inside and outside of school that are creating the problem. Maybe their schedule is too hard or maybe they have too many extra-curriculars, and that is where the change needs to happen.

In the real world, events aren’t always scheduled for specific days, without any crossover. We don’t only go the grocery store every Monday or have a conference on Tuesday. Sometimes we have to pay bills and sometimes we get sick and come home early. Now students have to start learning when to roll with the punches and when to speak up for themselves, and while it might be hard to adjust, this new approach teaches students how to do that.