For a public school student living in Pennsylvania, the months of March and April can mean only one thing: the PSSAs. But for a freshman or sophomore student living in America, the entire school year can also mean one more thing: sweet sixteen parties. The past month has been full of both, and I’ll tell you a bit about each one.

    PSSA stands for the Pennsylvania System of Schooling Assessment. It is a standardized test distributed by the state for students from elementary to senior high school to analyze the education system of Pennsylvania. The tests assess students in reading, math, writing, and natural science. Students’ scores fall into four categories: Below Basic, Basic, Proficient, and Advanced, wherein one must achieve a Proficient or Advanced in order to have “passed” the PSSAs. The state goal is for 100 percent of students to pass the PSSAs in 2014.

    Having gone to public school for eight years, I have taken my fair share of PSSAs. Beginning in the third grade, designated weeks in March and April would be set aside for testing. Each day of PSSA testing, my classmates and I would sit at separated desks, armed with pencils and erasers, and fill in answer sheets for hours at a time. How long and arduous each day was!

    Several months later, we would receive our scores in the mail. This year, for the first time in a very long time, I did not take the PSSAs. While the testing is mandatory for public and charter schools, private schools are exempt from them. The PSSAs, though, will always be a bittersweet, constant childhood memory of mine. Most states in the nation have their own standardized tests, and certainly, Chinese students are no strangers to these tests either.

    But what about sweet sixteen parties? While they have almost nothing to do with state testing, they are indeed an integral part of the North American high school experience. In the United States, the “coming of age” 16 birthday is a big deal. Sixteen-year-olds finally get to take their driving permit test and step on a gas pedal for the first time! However, similar to Mexican/Spanish quinceaneras, and Jewish bar- and bat-mitzvahs, it is an American tradition for girls to celebrate their becoming an adult with a “sweet sixteen” party. Many girls choose to throw fancy parties, inviting friends for a night of dinner and dancing, and receive many gifts in return. A week ago, I attended the sweet sixteen party of a friend of mine from school. She had rented out a club venue in town and invited over a hundred friends to dance and celebrate. It was very beautifully organized, with coat checks and a bouncer to let us in, “bartenders” mixing up Shirley Temples and sodas, elegant miniature sandwiches and pizza, and an endless stream of music. Eventually, a giant tower of cupcakes was wheeled out; we sang “Happy Birthday” with sparkler candles and cheered and clapped while the birthday girl made her wish and blew them out. This was the first sweet sixteen I’d attended, and I was in no way disappointed! In fact, I can’t wait to have my own next year.