Social media is currently abuzz over the 14-episode series One Day. Primarily, videos consist of people crying at the tragic ending, with some lamenting the fact that they were “tricked” into watching it because the show was promoted as a Rom Com, even though anyone who has read the 2009 book or seen the 2011 movie will tell you, One Day is and always has been a decidedly gut-wrenching (albeit beautiful) love story. Some Com, sure, but squarely a Rom Dram.
For those that don’t know (and without giving any spoilers) One Day follows the characters Dexter and Emma on the same date every year from 1988-2007. Sometimes together, sometimes apart, we watch how their lives and relationship evolve over the course of 20 years, but our window into their lives is always limited to one day: July 15th.
It’s a story about time, about friendship, and about love. It’s a coming-of-age story. It’s a modern story. It’s a story that may hit too close to home for some people. But it’s the rare story that deserves retelling because its message applies to everyone in all phases of life.
So then, what possible parallel could be drawn between a TV show and standardized tests? A simple one, actually.
Timing is everything.
Before I lose you (though yes, you are allowed to roll your eyes 🙄) let me explain. Standardized tests are about as unromantic a topic as fluorescent lights, I get it. They can feel as soulless as an assembly line and even antithetical to learning. Learning, like love, is one of the most beautiful things we do, a force innate to our very beings.
But like One Day shows us, even something as pure as love is subjected to constraints like timing. And even something as freeing and empowering as learning is subjected to evaluations like the SAT/ACT.
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The lesson of One Day is to recognize the importance of timing in our lives. Of not letting time pass us by, of using it well, of expressing love right when we feel it, of letting some things run their course, and of not wishing time away. In other words, to work with time. To leverage it the best we can.
It’s less poetic, but the same is true for standardized tests. Students can use the SAT/ACT to deepen their education. It gets lost in all the noise and the pressure for students to earn a certain score, but the SAT and ACT exams simply test a finite number of skills, a fact that students can leverage.
Rather than dreading these standardized tests, or fighting against them, students should focus on learning the skills that will be on the exams. Separate the learning from the pressure of test day. Reframe these exams with a longer perspective in mind. Carpe Diem the test prep process.
Just like a single July 15th can’t encapsulate Dexter and Emma’s relationship, the SAT/ACT can’t encapsulate a student’s entire knowledge or intellect. Both are snapshots. And they should be treated as such.
And yet, the ending of One Day is the culmination of years of July 15ths, and had Dexter or Emma made different choices, the final episodes wouldn’t have people in tears, posting about the importance of not wasting time on social media.
So don’t waste time. Reframe the SAT/ACT as the opportunities they are. Take advantage of the time your student has to prepare for them. Focus on learning skills, because that is what will set them up for success in the long-term, many “snapshots” beyond their SAT/ACT test date.