ts is at an all-time low. Half of you all won’t even finish this article. So let me get my point out nice and clear. SOLs are a waste of time, space and money.

At the end of every year, teachers begin to give students study guide after study guide, preparing them for the dreaded SOLs. Not only are the students freaking out about the upcoming tests, but the teachers are, too. The teachers need to show the school and the county that they are teaching the curriculum correctly and efficiently.

But what is the point?

SOLs show other states, and the world, how each individual state is doing academically. In this modern age, there is huge educational competition between countries, states, and even individual students. These SOLs are used as a basis to show others how each individual student is doing. Yet colleges and high schools alike do not always use the SOLs as actual grades to benefit or hurt a student’s grade.

The United States is about $14 trillion in debt. Everyone must be frugal with their money so this economic crisis does not continue. Fairfax County Public Schools are always looking for ways to save money, or put their money to a better use.

According to FCPS Superintendent of Public Instruction Patricia I. Wright, SOLs cost about $36 million every year. Compared to the county’s budget of almost $3 billion, this is not a very weighty cost.

Yet, think about what you could do with $36 million. Every penny counts. Schools are always looking for ways to save money. I feel that schools can do better when it comes to handling their money. $36 million can be a lot of money to benefit other things, such as books, science equipment, and even a better pay rate for teachers.

This money could help many different programs that help students succeed in life. Today, this money goes to some tests that may benefit a little to someone’s education, but in the long run, it is a waste of money and effort

The amount of time spent preparing for all of the tests is inconceivable! Teachers hand out packet after packet, killing trees and upsetting “Mother Nature.” The packets are usually left blank and thrown away, since teachers don’t always collect them as homework.

Students don’t want to be bombarded with this nonsense at the end of the school year. All that is on their minds at this point is freedom and getting a tan. Is the last month of school important? Unfortunately, yes, it is. Would I rather lay around and play COD and watch That 70’s Show? Again, yes.

These SOL tests cause stress and put pressure on students when they least need it. The consequences for failing an SOL can be very heavy, depending on one’s class or subject. Failing this one 60 problem test could ruin someone’s school year, even if they did pass the class throughout the year.

If one teacher spends at least three classes preparing for an SOL, that is four and a half hours of class wasted. The teacher could be reviewing for the final exam, which is much more important to a student’s grade. In many cases, a final exam is worth one fifth of the course’s final grade.

One of the most annoying part of the SOLs is the fact that teachers still teach the rest of the class even when you are taking the test. They expect you to make up all the work that you missed by next class. That is unfair to the students because it wasn’t their choice to miss the class.

The other side of this is that some teachers don’t do anything because half of the class is gone. They have the students watch a movie or do busy work that does not help them at all. It is not the teachers’ fault that they do this. If they try to teach the students who are in class, the students who missed class will be behind.

The worst part of SOLs is the stress factor. As I said before, this time of year is when it is hardest for students to pay attention. The pool is open, it’s warm out, and the ice cream man begins to make his rounds throughout the neighborhoods. This culture already puts too much pressure on the lives of teenagers for them to be shoving even more strenuous preparations on students.

Are there solutions to this issue? Of course there are.

If states need that educational basis to prove to the schools and other states that what they are teaching is correct and that their teachers are teaching it effectively, then keep the SOLs.

The SOLs should not be just some random test that has no effect on our lives. It should count as a grade. Teachers should make the SOL be the final exam of the year. If it was, then students would take it more seriously and not have to worry about two different tests. This would be more effective and less time consuming.