My Facebook homepage tells me that the past few days have been extremely important for students all across India because their ICSE (Indian Certificate of Secondary Education) and ISC (Indian School Certificate) test scores have been released. These are two of the most common national, standardized tests that decide almost every Indian student's fate.
My life began to be filled with the phrase "ICSE" from the 9th grade, for an entire year, when the test would only be administered at the end of the 10th grade. From teachers convinced of my failure in the examination should I not revise my history syllabus months in advance to relatives reminding me how my cousins scored the 95% average that is also expected of me, education became a task. Private tuitions became part of my daily routine because the school teachers were decidedly spread too thin among 45 other students to be able to 'educate' me well enough to score the highly coveted 95%.
From the beginning of the 9th grade, until the end of the 12th grade, when the ISC test is administered, the sole purpose for succeeding in academics was a high test score. Tuition teachers market their abilities by the number of their students who receive 90%+ averages, parents advertise their children's overall success as a human being in a subtle, snide comparison to other's children, and students grow up believing that their worth is attached to a set of words on sheets of paper that must be jotted down in a limited period of time.
I went to an all-girls school and have seen girls faint in the examination room because the fear of missing the test was so intense that they would rather skip meals than be late. I have seen women take these tests from hospital beds after undergoing surgery the day before. I have had teachers tell friends that they received "average marks" because their handwriting was illegible, illustrating how efficiently these tests are graded. I have seen girls break down in hysterical tears and needing to be escorted to the on-campus infirmary to calm their anxiety; and this is only before and during the actual examination. Following this are months of anxiousness until the test scores are released and more months accusations of laziness, disinterest, and uselessness should a child not score how much his/her/their parents were expecting them to.
Why must students experience so much stress and negative energy? To be able to identically reproduce the language in a text book that they have learnt by rote? If allowed a short revision of my Commercial Studies textbook, I could recite the "5 Principles of Management" but, have I truly learnt how to manage a team, be an effective leader or any workplace norms and nuances?
Education is not taught for education's sake but for the advantages associated with it. A higher score on a standardized test ensures a student's admission into a high-ranking college, which has traditionally translated to jobs, lucrative pay, social status, a happy marriage, and general communal respect. When did the focus of an education shift from learning, wisdom, knowledge, and critical thinking to a "95%+ or else" attitude?
Would the blood, sweat, and tears put behind the preparation for the ICSE and ISC remain intact if the tests were removed? I'm not so sure. We're taught to study to succeed in tests. From hearing worn out phrases like "It's not in the syllabus, you don't need to know" to questions sparked by curiosity and being more concerned about how much a teacher liked me as a better determinant of my grade than my actual intelligence, I lost interest in high-school academics because I was never shown how the words in textbooks could mean anything more to me than a possible 95%.
It takes people scoring less than 90%+, surviving, and, shockingly, even succeeding in life to realize that maybe the premium on education and the way the need for an education is marketed is not all it is portrayed it be. The narrative around education needs to change.
Only those who score less than 90%+ are told that their grades do not matter in the grand scheme of things or that they have more to look forward to in life, as if to say that they are not suited for the realm of higher education simply because their memory- not intelligence- failed them in a high-stress environment, completely negating individual creativity and different learning abilities.Those who score as desired by society are congratulated and encouraged to do so for the rest of their academic careers, with no mention on the shortcomings of standardized testing.
Education is meant for personal growth, civic sense, and intellectual engagement. Education is the process of imparting tools that aid worldly comprehension and challenge current political and socio-economic perceptions. The sole purpose of attending school and college is not to eventually posses bags of money and fleets of cars; it is to build one's self into an actively contributing member of society.
So, stop forcing your children to center their lives around a 95% on a standardized test, whether or not they manage to achieve it.
Stop telling only those who score below 95% that tests don't matter or that a better use of their time would be to pursue activities more suited to their talents.
Stop marketing education as a stepping stone to greater things.
Education, learning, and academics are great concepts in themselves and do not require a premium to be beneficial.
