Standardized testing is one of the most stressful things high schoolers experience. After juniors took the ACT a little over a week ago, they’re not looking forward to even more testing. Now they are faced with the Science MCA before spring break within a week. It has always been instilled in students that these tests are super important to them, but why really are they that important? Obviously, one test doesn’t define anyone, yet there are many pros and cons to the MCA.

Looking into Park’s recent history, many students have opted out of the MCA. Looking at the statistics, Park has significantly lower drop numbers than all of the other nearby schools. Last year, 38-65% of students opted out of testing. This dropped the school’s math scores over 12% and reading over 15%. Park had 75% of students testing in 2017. Then in 2019, just 50% of students did not opt out. Other nearby schools like Wayzata, Hopkins, Edina and Minnetonka had opt out rates from 0-20%.

All of this data brings up the question, why is our opt out rate so high? Especially when the opt out for MCA was due Jan. 15, it’s very odd that 50% of kids still drop out. It might be a lack of confidence that they’ll even pass, or maybe students don’t care enough to take it. For most students it can feel like a waste of time.

Is it really a waste of time? No, there’s many ways the student and school can benefit from the test. First, after taking the test, students receive a college ready score that can save them time and money because they wouldn’t have to take remedial courses at university or college. Next, students, teachers and caregivers can get a basis of where their student is at after they receive their score. Another reason students benefit is because it improves their learning. Once the scores come back, teachers are able to see where the curriculum’s strengths and weaknesses are, which helps Park become an overall better school after learning from the scores.

Building off that, Park’s ranking in Minnesota high schools is based on the MCA tests, because opt outs are seen as a fail, this directly hinders Park’s ranking, which then makes the school seem worse than it is. These scores not only affect the school, but they also affect the people wanting to move into a city like Park. When they see the low school ranking, they will not want to come to Park, which directly affects the population. The scores are almost like a domino effect on the school, when Park does badly on the tests, they are not given much levy money, causing our resources from the government to be affected too.

Another reason students should take the MCA is because of grade bumps. Many teachers offer deals where if you pass you get a certain grade bump or if you take it you can get exempt from the next quiz. Teachers are able to use the test to understand how they’re doing too.

With much more advertisement coming from teachers this year, I wonder the effects it has on the test? Will there be a better outcome than years prior? After looking at the benefits, hopefully students at Park can understand the test is beneficial for them and the school.