It’s that time of year again teacher friends for testing season to begin. Most educators would describe this time as an academic ritual that requires us to pause life, rearrange literally everything for something many see little value in, and then rack our brains like crazy when the scores find their way into our spreadsheets months after our students have graduated.

I got to thinking, maybe we can learn a thing or two from all this crazy testing in schools and see how it applies in our own lives.  If we want to know how kids feel when testing, all we must do is reflect on any day of the week. Think about how many times you are tested every day.  From the student behavior you face at school to the stress of your family at home.  From the relationships you try to balance to the stress you try to manage.  One thing I know to be true is that every human is constantly tested!

So, when your students buckle in their neatly spaced desks to fill in circles and click buttons, remember that your life too is much like state testing.

We think we can spend weeks or months preparing ourselves for what is to come, yet we inevitably feel ill equipped to answer every problem and wind up surprised that we didn’t see some of these problems coming.

We think we can accommodate or buffer ourselves from all life’s distractions to somehow gain an edge or perform better. Turns out, the greatest distraction is the thoughts in our head, which no one can tune out or put in a small group.

We let our anxiety take over when we begin to predict how we think we will do when tested. We picture failure, humiliation, and disappointment. Our heart races, our thoughts swirl, and breathing becomes shallow. We often forget believing in ourselves is half of the battle.

We second guess our decisions. “I’m confident the answer is B. Answer A looks pretty good though too. I just answered the last question with A, so it must be C. I bet George put C. I can’t stand George because he thinks he’s so smart. Yep, B has got to be it…or is it A?” It doesn’t matter how much we know, what matters is our ability to trust ourselves to make a decision. Some of our greatest errors are when we refuse to follow our gut.

We have two approaches when faced with a test in life: We either rush through it to get it over with or carry on forever to avoid ever facing failure. The problem with both approaches is by avoiding the journey you never get to see where the destination could have led you. One foot in front of the other is always the best pace to face the struggle of being tested.

We think a test is indicative of our worth. I hope that every person reading these words knows they have failed a test or two dozen in their lifetime. In fact, failure is a necessary part of becoming who you are meant to be. The test is not a mirror or a transaction that measures our life’s potential. It is a snapshot of time, where we are faced with the option of giving all we have for the experience of better understanding what we are made of. 

I think we can all agree that testing sucks.  However, when your students complain and your colleagues begrudgingly check out their testing materials from the front office, remember that we are all in this world together being tested. You, like your students, must find a healthy relationship with what it means to be tested. Instead of numbers or outcomes, look at it as an exercise of patience, self trust, concentration (which apparently improves with gum chewing), decision making, and opportunities for coping strategies to face pressure. We can all endure it with some perseverance and little bit of extended time;)

Happy testing everyone!