WIPE OUT THE EOC FOR GOOD

Students in the state of Florida are struggling. I myself, am a victim. When I started high school, I was doing great. I still am. I have goals in my life,things that I want to do. I have all my credits, good grades, do all my work, homework, have worked extremely hard to be able to do what I need to do to graduate. I've passed all my standardized tests except for the math EOC. This assesment has brought nothing but stress, anxiety (in which I already have), depression, and hard times into my high school life. For four years, I've struggled to pass this test. I've taken it over 10 times, and each time I fail to pass by a tiny bit of points. I've done everything I possibly could to pass this test. Gone to tutoring, studied like crazy, worked hard in class, but still fail to pass. It is WRONG! You're going to tell me that I can't graduate because of one test? That's undeniably insane!

In algebra, I've been to summer school, passed it, got my credit. I pass every test in the class with flying colors, but I can't pass this EOC. I should be able to pass the class without the stress of this crazy test. Everyone going through this should! Doesn't that tell you something? Florida has been statistically proven to be one of the lowest high school graduate states in the United States Of America. There are students with 4.0 GPA's and Honors that haven't been able to graduate due to these tests and circumstances. These children are forced to stoop lower than their educational knowledge and get a GED or no form of diploma at all because of this. These tests are bringing children down, making them feel like failures, causing suicide, depression, and anxiety rates to climb at serious peaks. It's not only the algebra. It's reading, biology, writing standardized testing that's causing these perfectly capable of going on in life successfully such stress and harm to their physical and mental state. Please, help us make a change. These children who are extremely intelligent in ways outnumbering most are being held back from living their lives because of these tests. These tests are affecting the lives of our futures. Your kids won't graduate because of a test? Since when did a number define how intelligent I am? Please help us rid of the EOC's for good!