Tales of Tenth Grade

          Grades are one of the most important things for me. If I were to rank the top 5 most important things to me, it would go as(in no order) grades, family, friends, health, and the Jets/football. Since kindergarten, my mom instilled a work ethic in me when it came to school. I'll never forget it. It's the origins of why grades are important to me. I've always been a good student when it came to grades, and I plan on keeping like that throughout the rest of my academic career.           On every assignment or test that goes into the grade book, I always aim for at least a 90. A 90 is like the line between an A and B+. I don't like getting anything less than an A- because I want to be able to understand whatever I'm learning and demonstrating skills and knowledge that go above the requirements. Getting a 90 or better proves you can do that.          College along with grades is important for me. I want to ...

Towards the end of each year, rows of single-seat desks populate the room with anxious students. After the prolonged book of instructions, silence fills the room further enhancing the already static mood. There are remnants of student confidence as the scantrons are handed out. Overall, it's a depressing and anxious environment, but students are forced to live in this loop for hours, somewhat against their wills. The New Jersey State Testing week begins and as kids walk sluggishly to their assigned room, they think, "Is it worth it?" or the better question, "Is this fair?" and "What does this actually prove?" After No Child Left Behind (NCLB) passed in 2002, the US fell drastically in their rankings, from 18th in the world in math on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to 31st place in 2009, the same trend happened in science, but there was no change in reading scores since the act was introduced. May 26, 2011, the Nat...