To the US Department of Education,

I am a rising junior at Mcintosh High School, in Peachtree City, GA. Junior year at my school has often been referred to as the "worst" year, as the pressure of college admissions and standardized tests stack up. Students, some of whom are not ready, are encouraged to take a large number of advanced classes to boost their transcript. Just this past year, several students at my school became mentally sick due to the pressure put on them by their parents, teachers, and community. One of the things that most adults do not realize is that students put extreme pressure on themselves. Most adults often think that students will only succeed if they are forced to study. This is simply not true. Most kids put immense stress on themselves so that they can make their communities proud by getting the best grades and going to the best colleges. This leads to immense pressure. Coming to school, once an enjoyable experience for our parents and grandparents, has become a chore for the modern generation. Common Core Assessments are being given to children as early as elementary school. Due to the abundant amount of tests, which range from tests that our teachers give in school to the standardized milestones to the SAT, students have a lot to do. All of this does not include social commitments, extracurricular activities, and homework. However, education does not have to be such a vicious cycle.  According to The psychology and neuroscience of curiosity, a research paper by Celeste Kidd and Benjamin Y. Hayden, children are born with an innate curiosity and are eager to learn. A person's eagerness to learn cannot be measured by a standardized test. The goal of educational institutes in the United States should be to foster a love of life-long learning, not to have students memorize endless concepts for high performances on tests. Many of my teachers have expressed the idea that they will much rather teach for the love of the subject, rather than "teaching to the test". Most teachers have an intense passion for their subject matter, and should not be made to teach for mastery on a state or national test. While standardized tests such as the ACT and SAT should continue to exist in order to access a student's ability to perform well in college, tests given to children because of the common core and similar state policies should put a larger emphasis on learning rather than scoring. I call on educational departments across the United States to change this policy, for the minds of the next generation depends on it. 

Archie Chaudhury

(Image taken from InsideHigherEd)