Every school year, students are faced with the big, bad standardized tests, and with the SOL’s beginning on March 8, it’s safe to say they are just around the corner. But are they really so big and bad? Most students don’t think so.

“I think the SOL’s are overrated,” junior Kyle Kowalczyk said. “It’s basically just a test on the minimum knowledge needed to pass a class.”

Some students, like senior Andrew Pack, don’t even bother to study for the SOL’s. “Last year I didn’t stress about them too much because they’re easy, but it’s pretty cool that I wont have to do them this year.”

Even freshman don’t seem very concerned with the tests. “I’m too concerned with sports and keeping my GPA at an adequate level to worry about such redundant testing formalities. Colleges don’t even look at them,” freshman Danney Davalos said.

Although the SOL’s may not be the greatest priority to the student body, the teachers as a whole tend to rank them as very important.

“SOL’s are a reflection of your teaching abilities,” English Teacher Noelle Davis said. “And it also shows poorly on the school if your class does not do well.”

All in all it’s safe to say that SOL’s are still, in fact, important. “They’re important to students even though most don’t study for them,” Pack said. “I know I would’ve been mad if I had ever failed one of them.”