Plenty of students at public high schools are allowed to retake tests and/or quizzes. Many schools let students retake tests or quizzes if they get below a certain grade, while others let students retake assessments no matter what grade they originally got. According to ASCD.org, allowing students to retake can reduce anxiety, decrease the chance of students cheating, and enable students to truly master the material. Most students end up doing much better on their retake than their original test, which boosts the school’s test grades and GPA rates. If allowing students to retake has so many benefits, why doesn’t Benet allow it?
Benet is known for its challenging curriculum and advanced, college-preparatory education. Benet’s argument against retaking assessments is based on the fact that once students are grown and in the real world, they are not allowed to “retake” important events. You cannot “retake” a job interview or most higher education tests and exams. According to Edutopia.org, when students know they can retake an exam, they might study less before the test. They use the test as a practice run; once the retake comes, they already know what questions and material the test will cover. Students who procrastinate are allowed to put in less effort than the students who studied long and hard and did well on the first test. Maggie Stott, a junior at Benet, says that she believes Benet shouldn’t offer retakes because if it did, students wouldn’t try as hard. Benet wants to prepare its students for life past high school and childhood, which doesn’t have “re-do” buttons or time-travel machines.
With both of these arguments being valid and true, should Benet students be allowed to retake? Benet is known statewide for its demanding educational program, high GPAs, excellent AP test scores, and outstanding ACT/SAT scores. If Benet students are already doing well without retakes, then why provide them? For now, Benet is going to stay dedicated to its belief that retakes are more detrimental than beneficial to learning.
