First off, there is a looming racial bias towards minorities in standardized testing. In New York City, there are specialized high schools where admission is solely based on a standardized test, the Specialized High School Admissions Test. Statistics from 2011 show that out of the 12,525 black and Hispanic students who had taken the exam, only 733 were offered seats. It doesn’t really help that only 19 African Americans were offered seats …show more content…
In addition, wealthier households usually have higher education attainment rates, with parents holding a bachelor's degree or higher. Whereas such services are completely off the table in lower income households. This graph shows just that:
Standardized testing takes a toll on the mental health of teenagers. At most North American universities, one cannot even go about applying without either the ACT or SAT in tow. Thus, comes the massive amounts of preparation that comes along with College Application Season that High School seniors know all too well. This causes a scramble as students feverishly take test after test hoping for drastic improvement in scores. One such University High School senior, Tom Poulis, goes in depth on the subject;
"I've been in school for three weeks and already it's really hectic, because you get thrown into all this college stuff," "And people are always telling you, 'Apply here.' And when are you going to take your SATs? And on top of that I'm taking four AP classes. So already, the stress level is very …show more content…
"[It's] a way of taking control over their life when they feel their life is out of control. And I see quite a few kids with eating disorders. It's kids who just feel like they can't handle everything they're doing."
To reiterate, this is just the extreme. Usually suffers experience symptoms such as racing thoughts, fatigue, and irritability before extreme symptoms like those described occur.
Stress has even trickled down to the lower grades. In the elementary schools, where Common Core is in full force, stress has shot up. Even though anxiety in younger students manifests itself in less severe ways, such as “increased irritability, frustration, and acting out”, psychologists have deemed that children internalizing symptoms, such as “withdrawal and excessive worry”, is more prevalent than the physical signs. These symptoms are more because if they continue to persist, they can lead to diagnoses of a variety of major anxiety disorders. However, some States have opted to deal with these concerns as objectively as possible. In the Ohio Achievement Assessment teacher booklet, it clearly outlines what to do when a student becomes