Too much emphasis is placed on testing these days. The need to prepare for tests and examinations is a restriction on teachers and also exerts unnecessary pressure on young learners. PROMPT: To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Nowadays testing has an extremely prominent place in education. The preparation required for examinations places limits on teachers as well as considerable amounts of stress on the students. While some testing may be necessary to gain a better understanding of what the child has learned, I completely agree that excessive testing is too restricting for teachers.
Furthermore
, it can actually inhibit students’ learning and potentially be damaging over the long term.
Firstly
, with the heavy emphasis placed on exams, teachers must teach only to the test. The result of
this
is that teachers cannot take the time to answer students’ questions about the content.
This
is because there is only time to teach what is going to be present in the exam.
This
squashes children’s natural interest in subjects. Another point to consider is that studies have shown that any student, regardless of age or subject, needs time to consolidate learning before being tested. A student who is tested too soon may get a low mark which is actually not representative of
this
student’s learning. Continual testing,
therefore
, does not take in account students’ natural developmental stages.
Finally
, the amount of stress placed on students to pass all these exams is not healthy. The continual cycle of preparing for a test and taking a test can exhaust and burn out even the most motivated students.
This
is particularly dangerous when pupils are still young. It
also
removes the natural joy that comes from learning for both teachers and students when exams are constantly looming over their heads. In conclusion,
although
a certain amount of testing will always be required at schools, I firmly believe that the current emphasis placed on tests is unnecessary and could have long term negative effects on students.

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