Students should be allowed test retakes

All students should have the opportunity to retake tests. At Central, not all teachers allow test retakes, which is unfair for students. Not only is this practice completely impractical for students, but it
is also inconsistent with staff. Teachers at Central who do not allow test retakes create unnecessary stress and confusion for students.

Taking as well as preparing for tests can be stressful for students. Many students struggle with test anxiety, or other variables like stress or lack of sleep that impact test results. Offering students the
ability to retake tests helps alleviate test anxiety and fear of failure in many students.

Students should be allowed test retakes so that they can learn from their mistakes. Allowing retakes would emphasize to students that the main goal of school is to learn, instead of acing every test.
“Learn from mistakes” is a phrase that is commonly associated with learning and education, so why not apply it to high school testing? If students are supposed to learn from their mistakes, then teachers
should give them the option to fix their mistakes. By retaking assessments, students have an opportunity to improve their learning, master concepts and raise their grades. In most classes units build
on each other, so it is extremely important for students to fully grasp early units to excel in subsequent courses.

Those who oppose test retakes argue that redoes are often not available in real-world circumstances like college or future jobs. However, this argument is not true, considering most “real
world” tests can be retaken. Some of the most important tests high schoolers take for their futures can be retaken, such as college entrance exams and driver’s license tests.

Giving students the option to retake tests will help students improve their study habits. Last year, many students became dependent on open note testing due to the pandemic. After a year and a
half of open note testing, many students have lost their past study habits. With the help of test retakes,
students could make successful changes to their study habits faster because they would have to study
material again.
Test retakes require the same devotion of time and energy test taking does and might not be
helpful to students who are not academically motivated. Also, when students know they can retake a
test, many will study as much as they can to avoid having to take the test again.
Test retakes need to be offered by all teachers at Central because of the benefits it offers
students. Not only could students possibly raise their grade, but they could also better their
understanding of concepts taught in class and learn valuable study habits.