When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one student body to declare

independence from tests that once examined them. On the morning of March 8, 2018, the
students of every high school in the nation will act upon this oppression. In an era of great
defiance, the students of the United States are now justified to list all of the causes which urge
them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self evident, that all students are different, that they each have their
own skills and weaknesses, that by being in the classroom, we can learn, grow, and succeed.
That to achieve success, students must use their skills to their greatest extent. However, when
a test examines the skills of each student and compares them to others, us students have the
right to nullify the exam. Instead, we have the right to focus on our currently enrolled classes
and take tests based on these subjects to examine what we have learned. We ought to have this
right because we are the ones who make up the classroom. We are the ones that grow and
develop through the teachings of our professors. We are the ones who volunteer and give back
to the community through clubs and organizations. However, as colleges continue to impose
requirements that oppose the rights of us students, and ignore the many attempts of
compromise, we hold it as our power to declare independence from this requirement. A
requirement that makes us compete against each other to see who can score the highest grade
on a standardized test. A requirement which disregards our rights as shown by the facts listed
below.

They have forced us to arrive at school at 7:25 A.M. in order to begin the exam.

They have enforced us who arrive late to attend the make-up test at a later date on a Saturday
morning.

They have crammed 30 or more students into a single classroom with only one adult to proctor
the exam.

For providing many questions to be answered in such little time.

For making us compete with each other to earn a higher score.

For wasting one school day of learning to complete this exam.

For forcing us to pay for the exam.

For creating a free test to be taken by students who were selected in a lottery system.
For every one of these atrocities, we have offered compromise. We have offered to change the
test times. We have offered to change the test days. We have offered to put more emphasis on
college essays and GPAs for college applications. Unfortunately, our suggestions have been
rejected and have since not been approved. When requesting to speak with officials at College
Board, we have been ignored. When we asked our counselors about having to take the
standardized tests, we received the same, repeated answer. We can no longer withstand this
requirement. Change is coming, and it is the responsibility of college admission officers to
officially recognize it.

We, the students of the United States, hereby officially declare independence from taking
standardized tests in high school. We do so under the power of us current students and that of
future students because we have been ignored by faculty and staff in both high schools and
colleges. As of March 8, 2018, we the students of the United States officially have the right to not
take standardized tests.