by Riley Lawson, junior
SOLs, SOLs, SOLs. It's all you'll hear all day long in a Virginia school; after all, it's what the entire school year revolves around. At least that's what it seems like in a class that has the state-required test at the end of the semester. SOLS only lead to stress on teachers, stress on students, and altered classes.
Stress on Teachers
The Virginia SOLS, which began in 1998, are a flawed system; all they do is make teaching harder for teachers. SOLs put so much stress on teachers due to the fact that they have to make sure the students learn all of the materials that they will be tested on in the limited amount of time they have. It ends up that the classes revolve around them. This means that teachers may not have time to teach additional material that is not on the test, even if it would be beneficial to the student. For example, learning to do more writing instead of just answering multiple choice questions would help teach skills that might be needed in college. In Science, you might not have as much time to do experiments, which are good for learning, but they're not like the written work that's tested on the SOL.
Stress on Teachers
The Virginia SOLS, which began in 1998, are a flawed system; all they do is make teaching harder for teachers. SOLs put so much stress on teachers due to the fact that they have to make sure the students learn all of the materials that they will be tested on in the limited amount of time they have. It ends up that the classes revolve around them. This means that teachers may not have time to teach additional material that is not on the test, even if it would be beneficial to the student. For example, learning to do more writing instead of just answering multiple choice questions would help teach skills that might be needed in college. In Science, you might not have as much time to do experiments, which are good for learning, but they're not like the written work that's tested on the SOL.
Stress on Students
Additionally, SOLS cause a lot of stress on students due to the fact that their entire school year revolves around it. From the first day of school, to the very end, all that they are told is that they need to prepare for the SOL and that "This is going to be on the SOL." Pretty much if you fail an SOL, you're not going to pass th class and then you'll have to retake it. All students do all year is stress about the SOLS.
There's even more stress involved when it's time to take the SOL. When you see the test, it gets you anxious and even after you take it, all you do is worry if you passed it. It's not even a good measure of what you've learned. Since it's multiple choice, you can kind of guess on the SOL sometimes without having to fully understand everything. But the opposite can also be true. Some people have test anxiety. They're so nervous and stressed out about the SOL that it can cause them to overthink it and do bad even if they know everything.
There's even more stress involved when it's time to take the SOL. When you see the test, it gets you anxious and even after you take it, all you do is worry if you passed it. It's not even a good measure of what you've learned. Since it's multiple choice, you can kind of guess on the SOL sometimes without having to fully understand everything. But the opposite can also be true. Some people have test anxiety. They're so nervous and stressed out about the SOL that it can cause them to overthink it and do bad even if they know everything.
In conclusion, the SOL tests are a flawed testing system. The students' year should not revolve around a test; it should be the other way around. While some form of test is necessary, I feel that it should be done on a case-by-case basis. The tests should be on what was taught in the class and the teachers should have much more involvement in what goes on the test. A final exam that's created by the teachers would be a better way to test students on what they learned in the class.