Although some teachers allow test retakes in certain situations, all teachers should permit students to retake tests due to teachers’ misplaced emphasis on tests and the high levels of stress students face.

All students at ETHS are familiar with the large amount of tests and quizzes we take throughout the year. These tests, especially in AP classes, can be well of 50% of a student’s grade. However, often times, teachers don’t offer any sort of test retakes or test corrections. This is not a good system.

Not only does it put too much pressure on students to perform well on one given test, on one given day, but it also doesn’t necessarily apply to the modern standards of grades.

Additionally, this brings up a common contradiction in school: teachers pressure students about doing well on important tests but then also expect them to understand the material. Learning under this sort of pressure is only detrimental to the student and their education.

The idea that students only get one chance at a test seems unnecessarily harsh. Teachers must allow students to try to rectify the mistakes they made on a test and learn from them.

Let’s face it; in many cases, students retake tests not to better understand the material, but to get a better grade. This is completely understandable, considering how many tests students take per year and the amount these tests impact your grade. This is yet another reason for allowing test retakes throughout the school; students’ grades should not be so strongly affected by one bad test and they should not have to frantically study to get a good grade.