ADVIKA SINGH ll STAFF WRITER
Are Scantrons a lifesaver or mistake? At Andover High School, the jury is still out. Many favor the quick results, while others say a few filled-in circles doesn’t show what a student really knows. As we keep bubbling in answers, one big question remains: Are we choosing easy grading over critical thinking?
Let’s be realistic: teachers are human. They need sleep and aren’t trying to decipher every student’s chicken-scratch handwriting. For those managing classes the size of a small village, Scantrons aren’t just a tool but a life raft.
“When you have large classes taking large, multiple choice tests, Scantrons can help speed up the grading,” forensics teacher Cole Hauser noted. He suggested the efficiency of the exam benefited both students and teachers: “There’s a quick turnaround on feedback for the assessment. Students are able to see how they did almost right away which can be helpful, especially for students who feel a lot of post-test anxiety.”
In contrast, English teacher Jennifer Percival chooses to skip the bubbles entirely, believing English should focus more on skill development. “I suppose if I gave Scantron tests, feedback would be faster, but I also think … it would be difficult for me to ‘see’ a student’s thinking,” said Percival. “Unless part of the assessment required students to defend their answers, I wouldn’t be able to see the thought process.”
Furthermore, I believe using Scantrons for subjects such as English and math is unreasonable. English relies on subjectivity and the ability to defend an opinion, none of which is captured by filling in a bubble. Similarly, in math, the process of solving problems is often more important than the answer. When we use Scantrons, we shift focus from critical thinking to luck and accuracy. Education should be focused on our ability to demonstrate intellectual growth and the ‘why’ behind answers, and not centered on a score spit out from a machine.
The subject a teacher instructs often determines the practicality of Scantrons. While many educators appreciate the efficiency they bring to subjects requiring memorization, like science or social studies, freshman Maria Barsegov believes some classes are a better fit for the technology than others. “It’s okay to use Scantrons for social studies because there isn’t solving or thinking, but that it’s unfair to use for math or English,” she observed. In her view, subjects that involve showing work should allow students to demonstrate their abilities.
The student body at AHS is just as split as teachers. While teachers focus on “feedback” and “efficiency” students are more concerned about how the format affects their actual grades. The biggest complaint among students is the lack of partial credit. On a Scantron, you are either 100 percent right or 100 percent wrong.
As a student, I’m familiar with Scantron exams, and to put it bluntly, I detest them. While I empathize with teachers who are tempted by prospects of a lighter workload, these benefits are outweighed by academic costs for students. For struggling students, partial credit is often the line between a C and a D+ or a C+ and a B, and losing that opportunity greatly alters your overall grade.
Junior Adelelaide Buzay found Scantrons stressful. “Scantron tests are efficient but don’t allow room for mistakes. I find them confusing,” she stated. This sentiment is common among students who believe Scantrons to be unfair. An anonymous freshman shared a story about a teacher reliant on Scantron exams: “I have a teacher who gives no partial credit and only does multiple choice and … her tests only have a few questions which makes it harder.” When a test only has ten to twenty questions, each bubble carries a massive weight. Without room for partial credit, students are left distressed.
Despite concerns of fairness and partial credit, the siren song of Scantrons still calls to many. For some, the stress of waiting weeks for a teacher to grade something is more dreadful than the grade itself. Freshman Bhavika Sharma stated, “ I like Scantron exams because the results return quickly.” In a high-pressure environment, this nearly-instant feedback allows students to see their mistakes without the anxiety of a long wait.
It’s ironic for students to be told to think outside the box, when only being rewarded for filling it in. It’s better if a teacher is reading your work because the machine can only see lead marks on a paper, and not the person holding the pencil. A Scantron can’t see the logic, effort, or the ‘almosts’ defining how people actually learn. We’ve built a culture that values convenience over students’ abilities. By handing grades over to a machine, we aren’t just losing partial credit but the most important part of education: growth.
