Teacher's touching note reminds students they're worth more than their test scores

Standardized testing is a source of anxiety for many students -- especially those for whom test-taking doesn't come naturally. 

But this week, one teacher took time to remind students they're worth far more than their scores.

Students in Indiana are currently taking the Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress (ISTEP), tests designed to measure instructors' teaching abilities as well as students' academic progress. And although the ISTEP doesn't affect students' actual grades, it can still be a less-than-fun experience.

That's why Abby Martin, an Indiana mom whose son is taking the ISTEP this year, was so moved by a kind note written by her son's teacher -- reminding the class that their true worth is not determined by the results of a standardized test.

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"I know you hard you have worked, but there is something very important you must know," the sweet note read. "The ... tests do not assess all of what makes you special and unique. The people who create these tests ... do not know each of you like I do, and certainly not the way your families do.

"The scores you will get from these tests will tell you something, but they will not tell you everything," the note continued. "These tests do not define you. There are many ways of being smart. You are smart!"

Martin -- and her son -- couldn't have been more touched by the gesture.

"Rylan got in the car today and told me he was embarrassed because he cried at school," she wrote on Instagram. "I asked him what upset him, and he told me he cried because he was happy about a letter his teacher gave his class before ISTEP."

Martin went on to express her gratitude for the teacher's message. 

"We need not just more teachers like her, but also more people like her in the world," she wrote.

We have a feeling Rylan is a little less nervous this week.

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