This 4th grade student shared her thoughts on high stakes testing at a school board meeting and I absolutely LOVE her. Sydney Smoot is a 9-year-old student in Florida. She wrote a speech, with a little help from her mom, about Florida’s new standardized tests for students.
It is obvious she isn’t happy with the new state-mandated assessment and judging from the applause the crowd agrees with her. The standards were created in place of Common Core tests. According to the Washington Post, the test wasn’t developed in Florida, but in Utah and cost the state $220 million dollars.
Smoot shares the obvious when she states that the test does not measure her abilities and is extremely stressful on students.
This is a common sentiment among students and parents across the country. High stakes testing is no good, for anyone. There seems to be a growing movement protesting these tests. Many teachers are questioning the efficacy of these tests.
It is worth watching Sydney’s short speech in the video below. Do you agree with her about these tests?
