这封信的作者是Byram Hills High School in Armonk, N.Y. 16 岁的Claire Mauney，她是学生公开信大赛的前 10 名获胜者之一，我们收到了 9,946 份参赛作品。
To Timed Test Supporters,
Three times I’ve sat in an SAT testing room, staring down the math questions. I could usually figure out how to solve even the difficult ones. But every time, there was that hardest question I actually knew how to do. I’d get to it near the end, finally figure out the process in my head … and then run out of time before I could finish writing the steps. Meanwhile, some students had spent months with paid tutors, drilled every type of question, and learned to use tools like Desmos to turn a three-minute question into a ten-second blitz. I still did well, sure — but the test didn’t measure my understanding. It measured my speed.
Timed tests measure how we perform under pressure, how fast we process, and how long we ignore the anxiety building in our chests. They reward students who skim, guess, and move on while punishing those who pause to think more deeply.
I’ve seen it happen, over and over in my high school: students who know the material lose points because they didn’t have enough time to show it. Students who could solve the hardest homework problems at home fall apart during the test because they couldn’t beat the clock. It’s not just anecdotal; a 2020 overview of related research in Translational Issues in Psychological Science found that timed tests reduce validity, harm students with anxiety or disabilities, and offer no measurable benefits over untimed ones. We know they’re flawed, and we know they don’t offer benefits — yet we still use them.
Some people claim that timed tests build “real-world skills.” What world are they talking about? In the real world, writers draft, engineers refine, and decisions take time. No one designs a plane in 60 minutes. No one does their best thinking under a stopwatch. Sure, there are deadlines, but they’re nowhere near as short as timed tests. Why are we actively training students to equate speed with value?
Others argue that time limits ensure fairness. Fair for whom? Not for the student who needs more time to read because they’re multilingual. Not for the student with undiagnosed ADHD who needs an extra few minutes to focus. Not for the student who walks into the room already panicked and unorganized because this one test might tank their GPA.
Many students feel that timed tests reward privilege — access to private tutoring, a quiet home, fewer family obligations, and even the ability to “game” the system for accommodations — not out of true need, but to gain an edge. Meanwhile, students with real needs often go unsupported. Is this system fair?
Let me be clear: I’m not requesting tests are made easier. I’m asking they’re administered better. Timed tests don’t reflect how smart we are. They reflect how well we perform when time is used as a weapon.
If your goal is to measure learning, let us students show you what we actually know. However, if your goal is to reward speed, then be honest about that, too; just don’t preach that the system favors “merit.”
Sincerely,
Claire Mauney
Works Cited
Doyne, Shannon. “Is It Time to Get Rid of Timed Tests?” The New York Times, 27 Sept. 2023.
Gernsbacher, Morton Ann et al. “Four Empirically Based Reasons Not to Administer Time-Limited Tests.” Translational Issues in Psychological Science, Vol. 6,2 (2020): 175-190.