From the PSAT that can be taken from the start of freshman year to the ACT and SAT that can be re-taken until college applications are sent off senior year, high school is full of standardized testing ― but how much is this system actually helping students succeed?

While these scores are helpful for schools themselves, they can create a culture of competition between students. Students with different backgrounds and learning styles are presented with information implying they are countably “better” or “worse” than their peers ― it’s not hard to see how this could cause stress and lowered self-confidence among students, given the importance placed on these scores by teachers and colleges.

In fact, this pressure to get a perfect score forces all kinds of unnecessary stress. I’ve seen students neglect homework, quit extracurriculars, and even skip class outright to cram a few extra minutes of studying in the weeks or months leading up to these tests ― all things that can end up hurting grades and other areas of applications more than a good SAT score can help.

Despite the pressure that continues to be placed on these sores, in a 2015 study almost half of liberal arts colleges described themselves as “test-optional”, meaning applicants can choose not to report scores with their application ― and with this trend only on the rise, it’s starting to look like the importance placed on these tests is not only counterproductive, but inaccurate.

Even still, the mandatory SAT probably isn’t going to be done away with any time soon ― what really needs to change is the culture surrounding these scores. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle: because students are told these scores are vital to their success after high school, they become a vital part of how students measure their own ability.

If these tests were treated with just a little less gravity, students could be spared unnecessary stress and might have more confidence in their own ability: two things that, ironically, have been shown to improve students’ scores on standardized tests.