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Ariahna Marano

Headline: 
Bye, Bye F.A.S.T Testing!
Author Name: 
Ariahna Marano

The spotlight is on why F.A.S.T. testing shouldn't be a thing. Most people wish that FSA was back. F.A.S.T. testing shouldn’t be a thing because you have to take it three times a year, it is online, and the F.A.S.T. test has no purpose.

First of all, F.A.S.T. testing is three times throughout the year. Almost all teachers say that F.A.S.T. testing is making us rush to learn everything they need to teach us. For example, when hurricane Ian hit Florida, most people were off school for two weeks. I know you are thinking two weeks is not that long. Well if teachers must teach their students like one thousand topics, no one is going to get everything done by the first, second, and third F.A.S.T. test. It can also cause a lot of stress because everything is so demanding with all the skills, and with teachers trying to get their students ready for F.A.S.T. testing. That brings us to the next thing. Students do not have enough time to prepare. What if they are struggling on one of the topics? they need to move on quickly to get the other topics done for the F.A.S.T. test. Then, the student will struggle on the topic and will not do so good with that topic on the F.A.S.T. test. To tie up, F.A.S.T. testing is hard when you have to take it three times.

Secondly, F.A.S.T testing is online, which is bad because there could be glitches in the system and the F.A.S.T. test might not work. You might think, “Oh well the system is glitch-free, so that will never happen.” Well there have been twelve reports about the program not showing up, not loading, and kids being blocked from the website. Also, the computer that the F.A.S.T. test is going to be on can die in the middle of the test. Wait, wait, wait! How is that possible when the computer is charging while you're taking the test? True, but there have been eight reports saying that the computer died because the charger was not working, the charger was damaged, a kid unplugged the charger before the next test, or someone tripped over the charger and ripped it out of the computer. To add, in the middle of the test the internet can go out, and who knows how long it will be out. Then, there is nothing to do about it but wait to see if the internet comes back. Can’t phones just hotspot the computers? NO! The teacher would have to hotspot all their students’ computers and that is not possible. Overall, F.A.S.T. tests should not exist or at least not be online.

Additionally, a lot of people say that taking it three times helps teachers see your growth over time. Yeah, but that is what normal classroom tests are for everyone. It was perfectly fine having FSA over the years without having to do it three times a year, so why do we need to have the F.A.S.T test three times a year? What is the point of having the F.A.S.T. test? It is the same thing, just online and three times a year. Seventy-eight percent of people ask that question about the F.A.S.T. test, and I agree with that question being asked. They should not have something like the FSA if they do not want people to ask about it.

To bring everything together, F.A.S.T. tests should not exist because of it being three times a year, it being online, and it having no purpose. Please consider the idea of bringing back FSA. Do you think we should bring back FSA? If not read this again!