--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Increasing pressure on students to…" description: "\"Increasing pressure on students to subject themselves to ever more tests, whittling themselves down to rows and rows of tight black integers upon a tra..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/leah-hager-cohen-16901_black_increasing-pressure-on-students-to-subje_1008664.jpg" --- # Increasing pressure on students to subject themselves to… ![“Increasing pressure on students to subject themselves to ever more tests, whittling themselves down to rows and rows of tight black integers upon a transcript, all ready to goose-step straight into a computer.” quote by Leah Hager Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/leah-hager-cohen-16901_black_increasing-pressure-on-students-to-subje_1008664.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/leah-hager-cohen-16901_black_increasing-pressure-on-students-to-subje_1008664.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/leah-hager-cohen-16901_black_increasing-pressure-on-students-to-subje_1008664.jpg) > “Increasing pressure on students to subject themselves to ever more tests, whittling themselves down to rows and rows of tight black integers upon a transcript, all ready to goose-step straight into a computer.” [Leah Hager Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-hager-cohen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society pushes students into endless testing, reducing them to numbers and limiting their future choices. **In simple terms:** Too many tests turn students into data points. Key Takeaway Resist over‑testing; value holistic growth. Themes education assessment individuality future stress Mood anxious critical reflective Type critical analytical When to use this quote - college admissions - job market - personal development - mental health Key Concepts standardized testing performance metrics identity reduction Questions to Reflect On - How can we measure learning beyond scores? - What alternatives to high‑stakes testing exist? A Different Perspective Tests cannot capture creativity or critical thinking. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Geese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/geese/) [Increasing Pressure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/increasing-pressure-2176989/) [Integers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integers/) [Integers Transcript](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integers-transcript-2176990/) [Pressure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pressure/) [Pressure Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pressure-students-1530748/) [Ready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ready/) [Steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steps/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Students Subject](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students-subject-2176991/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) [Tests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tests/) [Transcript Ready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transcript-ready-2176988/) [Whittling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whittling/) ## Related quotes > [Whoever our students may be, whatever the subject we teach, ultimately we teach who we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-j-palmer/whoever-our-students-may-be-whatever-the-subject-we-teach-ultimately/) [Parker J. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-j-palmer/) > [As I teach, I project the condition of my soul onto my students, my subject, and our way of being together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-j-palmer/as-i-teach-i-project-the-condition-of-my-soul-onto-my-students-my/) [Parker J. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-j-palmer/) > [“It is unnecessary, he added, to pressure students to produce speech or writing in the second language before they are ready, because “output” contributes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-crawford/it-is-unnecessary-he-added-to-pressure-students-to-produce-speech-or/) [James Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-crawford/) > [“With perfection comes pressure. Students here are some of the best in the country, and sometimes, they have to let off a little steam.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-shepard/with-perfection-comes-pressure-students-here-are-some-of-the-best-in/) [Sara Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-shepard/) > [The rising costs of higher education coupled with the stress of paying student loans are putting increasing pressure on students.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-johnson/the-rising-costs-of-higher-education-coupled-with-the-stress-of/) [Hank Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-johnson/) > [“the classroom environment can be a setup for serious stress-related health problems. In a sense, both teachers and their students are “captives”—they can’t leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-a-jennings/the-classroom-environment-can-be-a-setup-for-serious-stress-related/) [Patricia A. Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-a-jennings/) > [Trying to find the story within the story was hard. Filmmaking is such a reductive process in a strange way and you keep whittling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/trying-to-find-the-story-within-the-story-was-hard-filmmaking-is-such/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [The market has a simple way of whittling all excessive pride and overblown egos down to size. After all, the whole idea is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-neil/the-market-has-a-simple-way-of-whittling-all-excessive-pride-and/) [William O'Neil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-neil/) > [I've got a lot of cutting and pasting to do, gentlemen, so why don't you please return to your porch rockers and resume whittling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-rosenfeld/i-ve-got-a-lot-of-cutting-and-pasting-to-do-gentlemen-so-why-don-t/) [Albert Rosenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-rosenfeld/) > [It's about whittling. It's about taking something and whittling and whittling and getting it sharp and perfect. Then you've got something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-victore/it-s-about-whittling-it-s-about-taking-something-and-whittling-and/) [James Victore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-victore/) > [I'm one of those guys where you know, I'm 23 years into this and I love the road more than ever and rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-burr/i-m-one-of-those-guys-where-you-know-i-m-23-years-into-this-and-i/) [Bill Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-burr/) > [Yes, take a little time to play And look at life the other way. God rested when the world was made: Rest now, old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-markham/yes-take-a-little-time-to-play-and-look-at-life-the-other-way-god/) [Edwin Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-markham/) > [The preaching of the faith has lost nothing of its relevance in our times. The Church has a sacred duty to proclaim it without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-xii/the-preaching-of-the-faith-has-lost-nothing-of-its-relevance-in-our/) [Pope Pius XII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-xii/) > [The only guarantee of the Bill of Rights which continues to have any force and effect is the one prohibiting quartering troops on citizens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-only-guarantee-of-the-bill-of-rights-which-continues-to-have-any/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [A great deal of what is being published by writers in the religious tradition is a scandal and is actually turning people away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/a-great-deal-of-what-is-being-published-by-writers-in-the-religious/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) ## More by Leah Hager Cohen > [Is there a wrong way to say "I don't know"? Yes. When we declare ignorance, it should be a) honest and b) in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-hager-cohen/is-there-a-wrong-way-to-say-i-don-t-know-yes-when-we-declare/) [Leah Hager Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-hager-cohen/) > [Who could ever tell a story complete?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-hager-cohen/who-could-ever-tell-a-story-complete/) [Leah Hager Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-hager-cohen/) > [“Wally gives gifts all the time, at the drop of a hat, little, odd ones. The gift not so much in the item itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-hager-cohen/wally-gives-gifts-all-the-time-at-the-drop-of-a-hat-little-odd-ones/) [Leah hager Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-hager-cohen/) > [“The easy danger of stories, their adhesive allure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-hager-cohen/the-easy-danger-of-stories-their-adhesive-allure/) [Leah Hager Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-hager-cohen/) > [Every sad thing, every loss or hurt really a challenge to love that much more, really just another of beauty's many strongholds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-hager-cohen/every-sad-thing-every-loss-or-hurt-really-a-challenge-to-love-that/) [Leah Hager Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-hager-cohen/) > [“The words came fast and slow, because the act of writing plunged me so wantonly down slippery avenues of thought that frequently I found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-hager-cohen/the-words-came-fast-and-slow-because-the-act-of-writing-plunged-me-so/) [Leah Hager Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-hager-cohen/) > [“We are at the mercy of our own narrative impulses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-hager-cohen/we-are-at-the-mercy-of-our-own-narrative-impulses/) [Leah Hager Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-hager-cohen/) > [“Like storytelling, that incessant loving rush of explaining and repositioning and telling again, all for the sake of finding something shared, something mutually recognized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-hager-cohen/like-storytelling-that-incessant-loving-rush-of-explaining-and/) [Leah Hager Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-hager-cohen/) > [People cheat when they are afraid. When there is no cost to being wrong or confessing ignorance, there is no reason to cheat or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-hager-cohen/people-cheat-when-they-are-afraid-when-there-is-no-cost-to-being/) [Leah Hager Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-hager-cohen/) > [For why are we here if not to try to fathom one another? Not through facts alone, but with the full extent of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-hager-cohen/for-why-are-we-here-if-not-to-try-to-fathom-one-another-not-through/) [Leah Hager Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-hager-cohen/) > [“That our intuition could lead us astray is troubling in direct proportion to the degree of trust we place in it. The solution would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-hager-cohen/that-our-intuition-could-lead-us-astray-is-troubling-in-direct/) [Leah Hager Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-hager-cohen/) > [Unfortunately, being physically equipped to hear has little to do with the actual predilection to listen. Sharing a common tongue does not ensure earnest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-hager-cohen/unfortunately-being-physically-equipped-to-hear-has-little-to-do-with/) [Leah Hager Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-hager-cohen/) > [“Always, even on a solemn occasion like this, an undercurrent of laughter in her voice. She possessed a keen sense of the fundamental absurdity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-hager-cohen/always-even-on-a-solemn-occasion-like-this-an-undercurrent-of/) [Leah Hager Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-hager-cohen/) > [“Brant had said my embellishing constituted a disservice to history and its players. But I believed the opposite. Marooning them on the forlorn island…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-hager-cohen/brant-had-said-my-embellishing-constituted-a-disservice-to-history/) [Leah Hager Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-hager-cohen/) > [“He spoke slowly; I had a sense he was groping between words for the thread of his own thoughts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-hager-cohen/he-spoke-slowly-i-had-a-sense-he-was-groping-between-words-for-the/) [Leah Hager Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-hager-cohen/) [Explore all 38 Leah Hager Cohen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-hager-cohen/) ## More Black quotes > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [How can you be more subject; black woman in a white man's world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/how-can-you-be-more-subject-black-woman-in-a-white-man-s-world/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [We have to build our own power. We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Black music has always known, and not been afraid to acknowledge just how high the stakes of Black thought are. To summarize the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-wilderson-iii/black-music-has-always-known-and-not-been-afraid-to-acknowledge-just/) [Frank B. 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I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) [Browse all 11,655 Black quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Increasing pressure on students to subject themselves to ever more tests, whittling themselves down to rows and rows of tight black integers upon a transcript, all ready to goose-step straight into a computer.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leah Hager Cohen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-hager-cohen/increasing-pressure-on-students-to-subject-themselves-to-ever-more/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Black" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-hager-cohen/increasing-pressure-on-students-to-subject-themselves-to-ever-more/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/leah-hager-cohen-16901_black_increasing-pressure-on-students-to-subje_1008664.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/leah-hager-cohen-16901_black_increasing-pressure-on-students-to-subje_1008664.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/leah-hager-cohen-16901_black_increasing-pressure-on-students-to-subje_1008664.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Increasing pressure on students to subject themselves to ever more tests, whittling themselves down to rows…” — Leah Hager Cohen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Leah Hager Cohen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-hager-cohen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Increasing pressure on students to subject...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-hager-cohen/increasing-pressure-on-students-to-subject-themselves-to-ever-more/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-hager-cohen/increasing-pressure-on-students-to-subject-themselves-to-ever-more/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```