With the remaining days of school before summer rapidly disappearing, Paly students are under more pressure as teachers continue to add work that they know they should have allowed more time for.
For all juniors, like myself, we have to deal with the pressures of SATs, ACT, finals, college papers, and trying to find teachers who will write recommendations. On top of all of this, the state of California and the district expect us (as well as the under classmen) to take STAR tests this week.

For most Paly students these test are a complete joke. However, I have been told that the state requires 95% of students at Paly to take the STAR tests. This year, in comparison to the last two, I have noticed an increase in students trying to persuade their parents to exempt them from taking these tests. At the same time, I have noticed that the administration has responded to the students’ pleas to not take the test by encouraging them to take them.

I asked my parents to excuse me from the tests and, surprisingly, after a little arguing, my parents agreed. I told them that I had heard that the governor’s scholarship, which consists of money given to students who perform exceptionally well on the STAR test, has been cut.

I also claimed that the STAR tests do not give juniors practice for the important tests that we have to take like the SATs and ACT. I believe that although our school receives important money from the STAR tests, it is more important for juniors not to take them. This may sound extremely selfish, but because of all of the stress caused by classes, colleges, SAT’s, and every day life, I think that all juniors should not have to take the test.

Many juniors agree with my feelings towards the STAR testing.

"We already have to take enough tests," junior Maddie Mandich said. "Junior year is supposedly one of the hardest years and we just don’t have time."

Mandich also emphasized the benefit that students gain from not doing STAR testing, as she too was excused by her parents. "I can finally get my work done and for once I have time to get a little more sleep."

Barbara Miner published an online article titled "Schools are obsessed with standardized" tests on Sept. 8, 2000, in which she states that, "tests are even worse … because they don’t necessarily reflect what a student knows.Whether students are smart, stupid, lazy or hardworking is being reduced to how quickly and accurately they can darken the circles on a multiple-choice test."

Another problem with the testing is its overall purpose. Schools that perform best earn more funding, thus disregarding the idea of progress and instead rewarding those schools which already have strong, established academics. "High-performing schools tend to be clustered in affluent districts where the students are already showered with privileges and resources, while low-performing schools are much more common in poverty-stricken urban and rural areas," Miner wrote.

All of these reasons lead me to believe that STAR testing is wrong and California needs to change its way of allotting money to schools and assessing students’ and teachers’ progress.