Stop the five-test weeks.
Get a school rule that lets you move the extra tests to the next week.
Let's startPicking up where you left off.
School not in the list (middle school, private, outside the US)?
Open your student handbook and search for “test,” “assessment” and “exam.” Many schools already have a rule about too many tests in one day.
Can’t find the handbook, or not sure what it means?
How often do students have four or more tests in one week, and what does it do to them? The anonymous survey takes a minute. Share it in group chats, with clubs, and through student council.
Aim for 150 responses from all four grades. The week after a big test week is the best time to send it.
Your results
They go into every email below.
Start this while the survey is still running. Before you write to the principal, you want to know whether the teachers who give the most tests will fight the rule, and what would make them accept it.
First, a teacher you trust
Someone who has been at your school a while and will tell you the truth.
What to ask
1. Do you think other teachers will support this? Who will push back hardest? 2. Has anyone tried to change the testing rules here before, and what happened? 3. Would you go to the principal first, or to the department heads?
Then, student council
Ask your student council to back the rule, or to pass it as a bill or resolution if they can. A principal takes a student government vote more seriously than one student’s email.
Then, three or four teachers from the hardest classes
Math and science usually give the most tests, so start with those department heads. Fifteen minutes each. Don’t argue with them, just get their input.
Email — Could I ask your advice on a test-scheduling idea?
Dear [teacher's name], I'm [your name], a [grade] at [school name]. [number] students at [school name] answered an anonymous survey about testing. [X]% have four or more tests in one week at least once a month, and [X]% lose sleep in those weeks. I'm drafting a rule to bring to the principal: a student with more than three major tests in one week could move the extra ones to the following week, with at least three school days' notice. Would you have 15 minutes this week or next? Your input would really help. Thank you, [your name]
Find their email on your school's staff directory.
When you meet, ask
1. How many days' notice would you need to be fine with a move? Is three enough? 2. Which of your assessments would you be willing to move, and which never? 3. Should a counselor or dean confirm the count, or is the student's word enough? 4. Do you have any other questions or concerns?
Version 1 is what you ask for: the student picks which tests move. Offer the fallback only if the teacher meetings made clear that student choice is the sticking point. Change the 15% to whatever your school already uses to define a major test.
Version 1: the student chooses
Spreading out major tests at [school name] 1. Major tests. A test, in-class essay or lab practical worth [15]% or more of the term grade. Quizzes and homework don't count. 2. Same day. A student with more than two major tests on the same day may move one of them. 3. Same week. A student with more than three major tests in one school week may move any extra ones to the following school week. 4. Notice. The student asks the teacher in writing, by email or a message in the class website, at least three school days before the test. 5. Rescheduling. The teacher chooses the new time. 6. Limits. Final exams and state or district tests are excluded.
Fallback: which tests move
If teachers are against students choosing which tests to move, add: Test selection. When possible, the moved test is an in-class essay, presentation, project, lab practical or other assessment with fewer academic integrity risks, or one that is easy to rearrange. If asked, you can also offer a check (a counselor or dean confirms the count) and a pilot (one term before the rule goes into the handbook). Stay firm on everything else.
Schools that already have a rule like this
- Newark Academy (NJ). Four major tests a week at most. Student council proposed the weekly limit and the faculty approved it. The Minuteman
- Head-Royce (Oakland, CA). Two tests in a day or three major assessments in a week at most. The class dean arranges an extension. The Hawk’s Eye
- Castilleja (Palo Alto, CA). Two major assessments in a day at most, posted two weeks ahead. Handbook
- New Trier (Winnetka, IL, public). Two assessments in a day at most. The teachers decide which class postpones. Guidebook
- Hanover High (NH, public). A student with three or more major assessments in a day can move one with a conflict form. Policy
- Wootton High (Montgomery County, MD, public). Since 2021, a student with three assessments in a day can move the third. Common Sense
In a study of 4,317 students at ten high-performing California schools, tests were the second-biggest source of stress after homework (Galloway, Conner & Pope, 2013). Test and project calendars are one of the most common fixes schools make (Conner, Pope & Galloway, 2009).
The student handbook is usually the principal’s to change, so this rarely needs a school board vote. Attach the policy draft, and CC the assistant principal who handles your grade. Before you send it, show it to the teacher you trust and ask whether anything in it would make the principal defensive.
Email — Student proposal and survey results: spreading out major tests
Dear [principal's name], I'm [your name], a [grade] at [school name]. [number] students at [school name] answered an anonymous survey about testing. [X]% have four or more tests in one week at least once a month, and [X]% lose sleep in those weeks. [X]% would support a rule letting them move the extra tests to the following week. I'm proposing that a student with more than three major tests in one week may move the extra ones to the following week, with three school days' notice. The draft is attached. Schools like New Trier and Wootton High already let students move a test when there are too many in one day, and Newark Academy and Head-Royce limit major tests in a week. Before writing, I met with [teachers you met] to ask what would make this workable. Could we have 30 minutes to go over the survey results and the draft? I'm free [two or three times]. Thank you, [your name]
Find their email on your school's website.
If they say yes
Ask for a start date, an announcement to students and teachers, and for the rule to go into next year’s handbook.
If they say not yet
Ask what would change their mind, and offer the fallback and a one-term pilot. If it stalls for a few weeks, take it to the district’s assistant superintendent for secondary education or curriculum. Look in your district’s strategic plan for a goal about student well-being or grading, and quote it. If that stalls too, bring your survey numbers to a school board meeting.
Want a hand?
A Doorstop Session is us calling or coming to your school to help get this change made.
- Find out who decides at your school and what they care about
- Rehearse the teacher meetings and the principal meeting
- Fit the policy draft to your school’s handbook
Free for public schools.
Want more help?
We can work with you directly to make it happen.
Email — Student at [school name] — help getting a test limit
Hi Ben, I'm a student at [school name], and I'm trying to get a rule that lets students move a test when they have too many in one week. I need help with [the survey / talking to teachers / the policy draft / the principal / something else]. So far I've [what you've already done]. Thanks, [your name]