Introduction
There is no secret that the education system right now has its flaws. However a lot of these problems can be solved with efficient and easy solutions. In this article, I will be naming three of my least favorite setbacks of how the system currently runs and offer ways to combat them.
The Hypocrisy of Tests
I’m sure whoever is reading this has been told at least once in their life that your grade on a test does not define your intelligence. If an academically talented student had a sub-par performance on the math section on the NJSLA, but their grade in their respective math class was incredible, they would not automatically be considered bad at math. On paper, this statement is true. Some people stress out and forget important concepts last minute no matter how long they study for. However, in practice, the reputation of certain tests functionally disproves this claim in our current education system. My personal favorite example of this would be the National Merit Scholarship. During a student’s junior year of high school, they are required to take the Preliminary SAT, or PSAT. Unlike freshmen and sophomore year, their placement in the PSAT allows them to receive certain rewards by the National Merit Scholarship program. These rewards range from single-payment scholarships to renewable awards; as a result, this test is taken very seriously as it could be a students first chance at a scholarship towards their future college careers. However, juniors are only permitted to take the PSAT once in the entire school year. If they perform poorly on this test, then they have no other chance to achieve the scholarships. This single reward program contradicts everything known about the commonly heard statement. It’s like telling a fish that its ability to hunt does not determine how easily it would survive on its own. One test should not define a student’s validity of reward. A very simple solution for this example, is just to allow juniors to take the PSAT at least twice. The first one occurring during school will not have to be paid for, but for any tests happening outside of school, a fee should have to be paid up front. This allows juniors second chances for flukes outside of their control.
Weekend Homework
Compared to the previous complaints, this seems very petty, which yes it is, but I have real reasons to be annoyed by weekend homework: it actively harms everyone. These assignments have no real academic value and just add work for teachers to grade, and extra things for students to stress about. A study done by Sing Chen Yeo, who is a part of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience in Duke NSU Medical School, Singapore, and others, researched the quantity and quality of sleep in students who had high intensity homework and how it linked to depression symptoms. The results of this study are not surprising: in eight schools in Singapore, adolescents with a high amount of homework and studying time had reduced time with family and friends, had higher rates of depression, and had pronounced symptoms of anhedonia and anxiety if the student spent five or more hours doing homework or studying a day on the weekends (Yeo et al.). With all of these negatives, there should be no reason weekend homework should continue to exist. Allowing free weekends gives students more time to bond with the people around them and have a healthier state of mind.
The “Problems” About Phones
On January 8th, 2026, Governor Murphy of New Jersey signed a law that prohibits all usage of internet-enabled devices during school hours. In other words, phones and smart watches are not allowed to be used during school. His main reasoning for this, stated in Ramsey High School, was that he was, “…ensuring New Jersey schools are a place for learning and engagement, not distracting screens that detract from academic performance” (Murphy). There are so many fundamental issues with this law that have nothing to do with phones in the first place. If students are distracted by their phones because they are uninterested in class work, then the problem is not the phone. Just because phones are banned, does not mean that school issued chromebooks are, so students will switch to be distracted by those. If they ban the chromebooks, students could use fidget toys. Once fidget toys are banned, students can doodle or draw on paper, but schools would never ban paper. The problem was never the phones, rather a lack of interest from students in general, which should not hinder the students who do care. The biggest problem with these bans is that they are so unnecessary. If a student was on their phone during class time, they could have very simply taken it and given it back at the end of the period. The main “distraction” is gone and the student learned from their mistake with a reasonable punishment. It’s the simplest solution to a problem that is fundamentally different from the item that caused it.
Works Cited
“Governor Murphy Signs Cell Phone Ban into Law.” New Jersey School Boards Association, 13 Jan. 2026, https://www.njsba.org/news-information/school-board-notes/governor-murphy-signs-cell-phone-ban-into-law/.
Yeo, Sing Chen et al. “Associations of time spent on homework or studying with nocturnal sleep behavior and depression symptoms in adolescents from Singapore.” Sleep health vol. 6,6 (2020): 758-766. doi:10.1016/j.sleh.2020.04.011
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