What was the last stressful test you’ve taken? Chances are, it was a cumulative test. Cumulative tests are tests that cover a wide range of material, rather than just one chapter or topic. We’re all pretty familiar with them, and we’re so used to them that we don’t even realize the negative consequences they have on our mental health. In addition, what if I told you that cumulative tests are pretty useless and should not be prioritized in school?
Remember those classes that had quizzes close to every week? I’m pretty sure we all have had one at some point. At least for me, it was biology in freshman year. Every week, we took a quiz based on the content we learned. I remember not looking forward to it, because who wants to take a test every single week? Sounds like a lot of studying to me. Although, it really was not as bad as it seemed. I realized this when we had to take unit tests every month, and I’m kind of disappointed to admit that I didn’t do as well as I would have liked. From all of our traumatic experiences with these tests, it’s easy to say that cumulative tests don’t accurately measure our understanding of the material, as we are required to know a lot of content that we, as humans, easily forget. This leads to us cramming random facts and details into our brain the day before our test, because we barely remember learning half the material. On the other hand, with the quizzes that I took every week, regardless of the score I received, I was less stressed and more confident while taking them. I didn’t need to study as much because the information learned was still fresh in my mind. In fact, according to The Breeze Newspaper, “Cumulative exams leave many students scrambling two weeks out from their final, working to brush up on older information that’s now dusty in the back of their brain.”
Unfortunately, taking large tests every month isn’t half as bad when comparing it to finals. That’s one of the biggest cumulative tests of all, the one all students at DV dread from the start of the school year. In a matter of weeks, we are expected to memorize entire concepts that we learned more than 2 months ago, to a point where we ask ourselves: Did I really learn this? I don’t know about the rest of Dougherty, but I know for a fact that I never felt confident whilst opening my chromebook to start a 100-question test about practically everything learned in the past 5 months. Although, something I do know that all the students here can relate to, is that the question isn’t really: Did I get an A on the final? It’s more like: How much do I need to score on the final to still keep my A in the class?
In a matter of weeks, we are expected to memorize entire concepts that we learned more than 2 months ago, to a point where we ask ourselves: Did I really learn this?
As we open Schoology we pretty much expect our grades to drop, even the teachers! I’ve had multiple teachers mention indirectly that our finals will pretty much always cause a decrease in our grades, so we need to make sure we finish all of our missed assignments and quizzes before that to better our chances of having a good grade. So, if it has come to a point where even teachers lost hope in our finals, why do we keep giving such importance to them? It’s as if everything we do leads up to that, rather than everything we do leading to us learning, or properly mastering a subject. At this stage, it’s clear that cumulative tests offer no real benefit or advantage to ourselves or our grades, so why do we keep allowing them to take up such a big part of our lives?
However, let’s not forget that finals are unfortunately not the only cumulative tests we take. We take several throughout the year, all of which are weighted even more than the quizzes. Even worse, most unit tests take up a lot more time in the class period. I mean, who likes to stare at their computer screen and have to complete 50 multiple choice questions? I know I don’t. Many like the concept of taking big tests, as technically, we have fewer tests throughout the year. But then why is it that students perform poorly on the tests that are apparently a much easier option compared to weekly quizzes? This is because students don’t realize that in this situation, what seems like more work is actually the easier option.
So students, ask yourselves, are cumulative tests really worth it? How many more nights do you want to stay up until two in the morning studying for your final because you want to maintain the A- you have in the class? How many more evenings after school do you want to spend blindly memorizing and cramming random details and facts into your brain, because you barely remember any of the material on the test? I’ve done that multiple times, and let me tell you that it’s not the most practical idea. Instead, let’s appreciate the value of weekly quizzes, even though they may not seem to be the most appealing choice.
