Picture this; a painting of mandatory student statewide testing that shows knees bouncing, endless hours of sitting and thinking, all with stomachs growling. Nobody would buy it.
Statewide testing is required by all high school students in Michigan, and in order for students to perform their best, the testing environment needs to be the best. Currently, this is not reality because both Michigan’s statewide SAT and AP testing prohibits many student comforts. Unfortunately this includes limiting access to food and drink. These items are only allowed if a student chooses to take an unscheduled break which takes away from their testing time.It is time-consuming for students to have to raise their hand for a long period of time just to ask for a sip of water. If a tester has a dry cough, it not only hurts the tester but others around them. Distracting and taking away thoughts from the test at hand. It also is important to notice the fact that it is beneficial to the brain and body to be snacking and drinking to help elevate your thinking. The statewide testing regulations require that you are not permitted to bring food or drinks into the exam room and are only allowed to access it during the scheduled break during the test, or while taking an unscheduled break. This rule is taking away potential for students to earn the best score they can get, ultimately hurting students in the long run. We deserve for things to change, and should be allowed to have food and drinks near students while test taking.
It is known that many people have test anxiety. In a survey about anxiety, Chris Lee, author from The Independent Source for Health Policy Research, Polling, and News states, “One out of five adolescents report to have symptoms of anxiety.” I personally am someone who struggles with anxiety. As a result, testing is hard for me. Some things I have found to help include sipping water, snacking, and recently sour candy. It’s hard when some of the most important tests require you to keep those things in a separate room and accessing them involves raising your hand to take an unscheduled break in order to go to those items. It takes time away from testing in order to eat and drink. As these tests are timed, time is something precious for students taking these tests.Unnecessary and time consuming issues like this make it a struggle for students to preform their bests on these mandated tests, hence the need for change.
The recent finding about sour candy is that it can help reduce anxiety and is something I have found helpful during testing. It isn’t merely an opinion or folk tale, but is backed by science. Medical director at Pathlight Mood and Anxiety Center, Alyssa Lucker, in her article “Sour Candy for Anxiety Isn’t Just a TikTok Trend: Here’s How It Works” finds the body’s natural response to sour candy and its benefits related to anxiety.
“Anxiety is driven by our stress response (sympathetic nervous system) and can take us to a future-oriented place. When we engage our senses, the parasympathetic nervous system (which regulates heart rate) can reduce the cognitive load of anxious thoughts and relax our mind . . . Sour candy can be an effective distraction from feelings of anxiety,” Lucker said.
Northview parent and dietician Kristin Howe graduated from Michigan State University and has been working in the nutritional field in west Michigan for over twenty years. Howe encourages consistent eating due to consistent eating during tests in order to balance the energy used while taking them.
“The major energy source of our brains is glucose, and glucose is the fastest metabolized energy source that we have. So if what we’re using to feed our brain is also the fastest to burn through our body, that means that we need it more frequently than the other other calorie sources, whether it be fats or protein,” Howe said. “Our bodies then have to tap into a different energy resource, and that actually requires additional energy from our body to convert the protein and the fats into glucose to help feed our brains. So we’re actually depleting our bodies a little bit more by going into that metabolism cycle.”
Food is not only wanted as a comfort during testing, but also needed due to the amount of it being used while thinking. Food is what powers the body and as seen above, is needed in order to process information best.
Advanced Placement Language and Composition teacher of 15 years and AP reader (a paid position evaluating AP exam essays) Janelle Miles has an interesting case when it comes to her opinion on this topic because she has been on both sides. She herself has been a test taker not too long ago, but is also now a proctor and grader. She is able to see the struggles that may come from this rule being changed.
“From a proctor perspective, it would be more stressful to be monitoring that sound, like the crinkling sound that might bother people who need it to be quiet,” Miles said.
On the other hand, Miles also has first hand experience with the difficulty of testing without food and drinks.
“People love to have their water, including me. It hasn’t been that long since I had to test for my graduate record exam, and I felt hampered by not being able to reach for my water bottle or not being able to crunch on some of my favorite Cheetos,” Miles said, “I see both sides and I see why they’ve banned it. And I see how maybe if they make a decision one way or the other, another group is going to have to shift their comfort zone, unfortunately.”
Howe examines scientific insight describing how you cannot perform your best when you aren’t prioritizing nutrition.
“Lack of nutrition can cause stress on the body in and of itself. So if you’re in a stressful situation and your body is depleted, it can impact the mental focus, the mental understanding and application, and it can fatigue the mind and the body faster,” Howe said.
Miles sees a solution involving cellophane that would benefit students while considering the old rule.
“My opinion is let them have it as long as you have clear cellophane wrapping. The reason they don’t let you do it is because of cheating. So people have figured out ways to write answers on things, and a few people, unfortunately, have ruined it for the masses,” Miles said, “ I think you should be allowed to do what you need to do. And I think that I think the answer would be clear cellophane”
Students should be allowed snacks and drinks by them during testing because it will show great benefits in areas of anxiety, thinking, and help students have the best opportunity for greatness. Understanding both sides of the issue, but knowing the necessity for the change, despite opposing hurdles. This rule needs to be overridden.
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