Colorado Student Assessment Profile testing, or CSAP, is a test required in Colorado starting in 3rd grade all the way through 10th . Other states also have similar programs but not as important. CSAP is important to all students cause it can determine a lot about their classes or even the grade their in. This one test should not determine so much. CSAP’s should no longer be required in schools.

CSAP may be an accurate test but what about those of us that are not good test takers. Yes the teachers may go through test taking techniques but it does not mean they are any better. Some students have straight A’s and still fail every test they take. One thing that a lot of teachers offer is if their grades are good enough they don’t have to take a final or midterm. This helps a lot but for CSAP grades aren’t looked at. A big factor in why students are bad test takers is because of the stress that is put on them.

CSAP is a very stressful test for most students that care about their future. This is because so much is based off of it. Schools look at the scores to determine the types of classes a student needs to take. Whether it’s a slower paced class or higher paced, less advanced or more advanced. This is not fair to the students that do well but are bad at taking tests. Some kids in elementary school have even been held back do to pour grades on the test even when they were doing proficient in everything in class. This is not only unfair to the older kids that have to take lower classes but also the younger one’s that have to redo an entire grade.
CSAP is scheduled but things come up in everyone’s life that may interfere with it. Although students are notified weeks ahead of time of CSAP testing things happen. Such as, family matters or just caught a cold. The timing can be good or bad depending on the student, because of this it is not an accurate average. The test can be made up but that does not mean the student is completely healthy or emotionally able. Basing a student’s knowledge on one test when a student may be having a hard time or just not well at testing is not fair to the student.

CSAP is required but there are ways to get exempt from taking the test . Most students are unaware of this though it is not a common known thing. When talking to students about this most were unaware that they could have their parents sign them out of taking the test. So this is offered but giving good enough reasoning and the struggle to get parents to write a letter takes more than is should. Not only that but if a student is taken out of the test it decreases the schools average . And it’s shown that school funding doesn’t really have anything to do with it. Schools with high and low scores get the same basic salary . So the student may not take the test but the school average is affected by it which is not fair to the school.

Overall CSAP should not be required in Colorado anymore. It may look good on a college resumes but there are many other test such as ACT’s and SAT’s. So CSAP is not really needed. It is not a fair way to judge a student’s progress with one test that is not that accurate. So CSAP should be abolished and no longer required in schools.