High School Chronicles: One Week Countdown Until the SAT

The time has come, and the atmosphere's frantic feeling has set in. For juniors like myself, the rush of panic and frenzy has gusted in with the misleadingly calm winds... the nationwide SAT is destined to be proctored next Saturday.

Some students may be keeping their composures with complete confidence... from the looks of their outer mannerisms. However, it is a shared understanding for the nation's class of 2013 that everyone is capable of undergoing some sort of breakdown at any point before the test. Especially in Montgomery County, where parents of all ethnic origins have invested money and energy in ensuring "acceptable" scores for their children, students are experiencing even more pressure where standardized test scores seem to hold more depth than anything else.

With this type of exerted pressure coming from many mediums, I can certainly relate. I started SAT prep classes at C2 Education Center starting from late August and I have taken two hour sessions there religiously twice a week to this day. With my last sessions coming up this week on Tuesday and Thursday, the reality is beginning to settle... the future-determining (according to MCPS logic) test is only days away. 

Even after the repetitive practice tests I have taken, I still can't conceptualize what sitting in that anxiety-ridden classroom this Saturday with my classmates will feel like. Will I improve from my previous practice test scores? Will I freeze up while looking at the essay question and not wrap up my thoughts by the designated time given? How are my friends faring? And most importantly, will my score prove to my family that I'm a capable student and it will be enough to get me accepted into my first choice college? Such questions, I'm sure, will be running through every junior's mind this week.

After writing my previous blog post which passionately professed my views regarding the unimportance of the SAT score towards a student's future, these views have begun to sway. As the tangible panic exerted from all my fellow classmates has been felt, I am beginning to have competitive feelings... in order to live up to the expectations that are set in this county, my score must be acceptable for its standards. There is a sense of shame and unease if one's score is "mediocre."

But at the same time, my school has a fair amount of high achievers and gifted students. I cannot assume that each high school's SAT average is a 1900. Each student has different learning styles, capabilities and talents. One standardized test cannot possibly sum up the characteristics of a unique individual... it doesn't measure a student's ability to play the cello, compose a fashion-forward outfit that matches this spring's trends as a pro stylist would, or make short films that are uploaded on YouTube.

The SAT is important and the pressure can amount to a level that is overwhelming, but we must remember that the score that will be mailed to us on that fateful day two months after taking the test will not determine our success later in life. It may be important in determing which college we get accepted into, and it would be nice to get a high score, but we have talents outside that lie outside of reading comprehension and math skills. As I walk into the panic-stricken classroom come Saturday, there's no doubt that I'll be just as nervous as the classmate who will be sitting next to me. But I will have the comfort of knowing that I have a supportive family who will cheer me on no matter what the outcome and the belief my own unique assets will get me through life somehow... regardless of my SAT score.