AIMS is Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards. It is a huge test that every student in Arizona has to take in order to graduate high school. The purpose of AIMS is to make sure that the students are getting the required education, but, really, it interrupts the normal school day. We go to an assigned room and sit with our alphabetical buddies for four torturous hours, where talking, or even getting up to grab a tissue without raising your hand, is not allowed.

Standardized tests like AIMS, in my opinion, do not prepare students – like me – for the real world. Yes, the teachers do instruct us on what we need to learn to pass the test, and they do it well, but they only teach us what is going to be on the test. They don't have time to prepare us for anything else. We're not learning what we need to learn, only what the district tells the teachers is going to be on the test. This isn't to say that the subjects that we are learning are not important. They most certainly are, but, honestly, I could take AIMS without any instruction and be able to pass. I can't say the same for other students, but I have enough common sense and am able to use the process of elimination to figure out the correct answers -- except for math. I would need to know the formulas, but otherwise it would be a breeze. I might not get an excellent score, but I would definitely pass.

Millions of dollars are spent on standardized tests at the same time that 30,000 teachers were cut in California. In these times of economic struggle, well-paying jobs are harder to find, and the massive layoffs are making it even worse.

If school districts were logical, then they would stop the standardized tests and pay more attention to the teachers. I think that standardized tests should be abolished and districts should just have standards and objectives for students to meet. Testing just distracts students and teachers from the things that we should actually be learning. We need to find a balance.

Taylor Sawma
Sophomore, Empire High School