#1. C.

The terrifying idea that exams greet me after my holiday break grasps my brain and molds it like Play-Doh. My mind is set on one thing: my goal, my grades, and my exams.

I force myself to give up watching a movie, having dinner with friends, and sleep to finish a five-page study guide. Questions drift through my mind as I go through the motions of my daily monotonous testing routine.

#28. D and E.

I quiz, and I quiz, and I quiz myself, but for what?

Memorization. Memorization that isn’t truly learning. I don’t learn from memorizing the answer to 100 questions in a painful packet, nor do I believe that is the way to test me or anyone else.

Many people fall under four categories of learning: visual, hands-on, verbal, or reading/writing. However, these are not the only four types; there are many more, common types. None of them help people learn the same way. None of them test the same way. None of them should be tested the same way.

#45. C.

Somehow we’ve managed to ignore the different styles of learning. Habitually and horrendously hiding the fact that exams aren’t for many or anyone at all doesn’t benefit anyone. Kids who could build a model space station using their knowledge of astronomy, physics, and architecture for their project somehow manage to barely get daunting D’s on an exam.

I know exams are used to test students on the topics they’ve learned. I know there needs to be a way to take in consideration everyone’s learning in an equal way. But just because exams are easier to compare learning with, does that make it okay to have smart, amazing students not taken into consideration?

Casting aside these students who have feelings and goals just like anyone else is inhumane. An exam seems as insignificant as a crack in the sidewalk to adults; yet to teens, it can be the difference between having pride in themselves or doubting their capabilities. This doubt is far from good. Before taking the exam, they could have dreamt of Yale, but afterward, their belief in themselves may be shattered.

#73. A.

Instead of forcing a treacherous test in front of a student, let the student’s imagination run through the fields of creativity. Let them build a diagram that captures the unit like a perfect photograph. Let the verbal learners create a song, a rap, or a video to explain key and crucial concepts. Putting restrictions on minds that don’t work within the system hurts everyone. It hurts our future. It hurts the coming innovations. It hurts them.

By simply changing an exam to a project, a whole new world of creativity can open up and show you a deeper understanding of what a student knows which is much, much more than what memorization can do.

#97. Blank.