We all have had to go in before our first semester of Skyline and do those placement tests. Whether it be in English or mathematics, it’s something that a lot of people dread and feel awful about. Sometimes students, who enlisted in concurrent enrollment while they are in high school, have to go through placement testing to cover other classes so they can be a step above in their high school curriculum. Some people may feel confident in their answers, but others are nervous and end up messing up each and every time because of a case of test anxiety.

This results to some people being placed in lower classes that they really should not be in. Some of the questions on the test seemed to be things that were covered and taught before high school years, making it harder for the students to place in the class that they were initially aiming for. This can result in throwing people off their schedules and their plan while they’re here at Skyline and can delay them in reaching their goals of possibly transferring to a UC, CSU, private college, or a college out of state when they have originally planned to.

People’s ability should not be judged by placement tests. Even though they do basically act as an assessment, people just don’t typically do well with them. Even though practice exam questions are available, sometimes they do not really help people when they are under stress. People should rather be placed on evaluation in high school even though sometimes this would not prove helpful because every school does not necessarily have the same standards when they all belong to the same district,

Placement testing? Don’t like it much, but we all have to try as hard as we can to aim for our goals. There’s always another time to take them, but sometimes this form of testing does not fall into a category of success for college students. Some people have better luck with testing, some don’t. People should not be penalized because they get nervous and anxious for these tests.

The tests are unavoidable. Let’s face it. You can do several things to try to relieve anxiety and make yourself comfortable. Breathe, study, and feel confident, and you should hopefully do well.