Not So Balanced, by Danielle Laverdiere & Lucy Alexander

In order to get the most benefit out of Junior year of High School, it is necessary to take as many hours of standardized testing as possible in order to stimulate the seventeen-year-old brain. Juniors are not at all busy; they aren’t taking any advanced classes, don’t need to worry about any other standardized tests, and have plenty of time before they start their college search process. The timing in May will greatly benefit juniors by giving them a sense of purpose with nothing else to do during this month. Fortunately, this year in many states around the country, a brilliant new test, the Smarter Balance Test, has been created to appeal to this necessity. Maine, for example, has proudly decided to implement this test into its curriculum for juniors, and this decision is heartily supported by the thousands of juniors across the state. This test offers nine hours of testing, because the longer the testing, the more stimuli the brain receives and the harder the student will work. The longer that students are able to sit still in their metal chairs, the more likely they are to be more successful later in their lives. The longer a student will sit, the more focused and peaceful the student will become. But this testing is not old fashioned pencil and paper testing, which is too complex and archaic for the seventeen-year-old modern mindset to understand. Instead, this test offers an interactive computer interface that, instead of having to select a multiple choice answer, which can sometimes lead to much debate and guessing for students, students are able to use the variety of tools provided to find answer choices faintly highlighted within a text, use a very effective and easy to use pop-up calculator, or use their stimulated brains to draw their answers on the computer interface by using an interactive and useful trackpad system. Although some may say this test is a slight burden, juniors across Maine will see how this test benefits them personally and helps them in their career path. Smarter Balance testing both makes students smarter and more balanced! What an amazing thing!