The testing experience

Little compares to the stress and joy of the final months of college.

There were milestones everywhere, the biggest of which was turning in my senior thesis. I was a theater-track English major, so I had a full-length play to complete rather than an analytical paper.

And while most theses were due in the spring, mine was due in January because that was the production date for the play. I spent most of the spring boasting to my stressed out friends that my thesis was done.

But then, another hurdle appeared on the horizon: Departmental exams. They had completely slipped my mind. This was a one-time test that seniors had to pass in their department of major in order to graduate.

I was an English major, but as I mentioned I was on the theater track.

That meant that outside of a couple of prerequisites as a sophomore, almost all of my English classes focused on plays, writing and theater studies.

Now I was a few weeks away from the test that would determine if I would graduate and I had long forgotten my Chaucer and Spenser, and I’d already sold all of the required reading years ago to some book buy-back guy for like $20.

This test was sure to be my downfall.

Amazingly, your kid might be able to relate.

Today, Muscogee County School District’s third through eighth graders are taking science exams through the new Georgia Milestones assessment system.

They’ve been at it over a week already and they aren’t done yet.

The Georgia Milestones Assessment System is a comprehensive set of exams that cover major subject areas for grades 3-12. This is its first year in statewide implementation.

It was developed by the state of Georgia in an effort to provide tests that could more accurately display the progress of our students. It has open-ended test items in addition to multiple-choice questions, which allows students to explain their answers and better express their knowledge.

Will it be tougher than previous tests? If the preliminary state-level results are any indication, yes. But the state believes it is a better reflection of the stiff competition and rigorous academic demands that a student will face in college and beyond.

To that end, if you don’t at least score on the third-best level of four, you will not move to the next grade.

So an 11-year-old might be worried sick about today’s science test. She might be an expert at discussing the Earth’s composition and energy sources, but have trouble deciphering graphs and charts that relate to that topic. She might have focus issues that make weeks of testing particularly difficult, though the knowledge may well be in her head. Or she might be like I was — a crammer and a strong tester who is better under the gun than left alone with time management assignments.

Is this testing experience a reflection of college rigors? My experience says yes. But should a third grader be getting a taste of that? I’ll leave that to the experts, I guess.

Natalia Naman Temesgen is an independent contractor. Contact her at nntemesgen@gmail.com.

This story was originally published April 14, 2016 at 7:33 PM with the headline "The testing experience."