Ever fallen into one of those Internet dating quizzes? You know‚ the ones that promise to categorize you? Like "what your astrological sign says about your relationship style."They can be fun‚ but we all know they're mostly fluff.What if I told you someone did find a way to "categorize" your love style but with actual real science?Three relationship scientists asked about 400 couples to track how they felt about their relationship and how committed they felt to marrying their partner. They followed each of the couples for nine months. Not‚ like‚ literally followed them — that would be creepy. Instead‚ they just asked them a few questions and asked them to keep track of how committed they were feeling over time.At the end of the nine months‚ the scientists collected all the couple's responses and delved deep into the data. They found that couples did indeed tend to fall into one of four categories.Prepare yourself for some soul searching because you might just be:1. The Conflicted‚ but PassionateThis is the couple Facebook made the "It's Complicated" relationship status for. Their levels of commitment tend to go up and down over time‚ especially after arguments. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. These folks use those conflicts to help them make decisions about the relationship‚ and in fact‚ they didn't appear to be any more destined for a breakup than any of the other groups.Also‚ as a bonus‚ they tend to follow those turbulent downs with passionate ups. "These couples operate in a tension between conflict that pushes them apart and passionate attraction that pulls them back together‚" said study author Brian Ogolsky.2. The Partner-FocusedIf your idea of a perfect date night is a long walk followed by eight hours of binge-watching "House of Cards" together‚ you might fall into this category.Partner-focused couples tend to spend a lot of time together and share hobbies or leisure activities‚ and it's that shared time that tends to propel them forward. They tended to be more careful and thoughtful about their relationship decisions — more likely to build from the inside out — and tended to be the most satisfied overall.3. The Social ButterfliesOn the other hand‚ if your perfect evening with your partner involves grabbing all your friends and hitting the bars or breaking out Settlers of Catan for the hundredth time‚ this might be the category that best describes you. Social couples usually share a friend group and use that time spent with friends to inform and build their relationship as a couple."Having mutual friends makes people in these couples feel closer and more committed‚" said Ogolsky. They also tended to be pretty stable and have higher levels of love based on feelings of friendship toward each other‚ which can be a good indicator for long-term happiness.4. The DramaticUnfortunately‚ not every couple's path is easy. Things may start out good‚ but tend not to stay that way for dramatic couples. This type of couple tends to make decisions based on negative experiences or stuff from outside the relationship."These couples have a lot of ups and downs‚ and their commitment swings wildly‚" said Ogolsky. "You begin to see little things eroding‚ and you start to see the relationship in a negative light‚ and soon you give up‚" said Ogolsky.Perhaps unsurprisingly‚ dramatic couples tended to break up the most‚ twice as much as other couples.So what's best? Well‚ here's where this article differs from a lot of those Internet quizzes. Because the answer is that there isn't a "best" kind of relationship.Different couples work and grow differently. These are different pathways and it'd be a mistake to assume there's a "correct" way to love someone. Or even that you're forever locked into a certain style of relationships. "These are not predefined‚ for-life patterns‚" said Ogolsky.And even in a single relationship‚ these patterns aren't predictors of destiny — a dramatic couple may‚ in fact‚ outlast a social one‚ and a partner-driven couple may be as passionate as anyone you could ever meet.And the researchers willingly admit in their paper that their study doesn't cover all relationships. Many very happy couples have no desire to marry‚ for instance. And‚ it should be noted‚ that it wasn't too long ago that the U.S. didn't even allow all couples to get married!Wait‚ you're not going to tell me how to find the perfect‚ golden‚ eternally-happy relationship?! Why even study this then?Because‚ in our hearts‚ humans are social creatures‚ Ogolsky explained. Love‚ friendship‚ passion‚ and commitment are part of the human experience. Understanding relationships can be as important to understanding ourselves as studying chemistry or biology. They can even affect your health!As for what you can learn from all this‚ the important takeaway is that what you use to make decisions — whether from conflict‚ from the inside‚ from the outside‚ or from friendship — can influence your level of commitment. It might be useful for couples to think not just about their choices but how they make their choices.So ... what's your category?This article originally appeared on 02.15.16

If you need proof standardized testing is setting students up for failure‚ just ask the students. Sydney Smoot has a bone to pick with the Hernando County School Board. The issue? The Florida Standards Assessment Test‚ or FSA for short. On March 17‚ 2015‚ Sydney bravely stood up at her local school board meeting to share how she felt about the test and why she believes it's failing students and teachers. "This testing looks at me as a number. One test defines me as either a failure or a success through a numbered rubric. One test at the end of the year that the teacher or myself will not even see the grade until after the school year is already over. I do not feel that all this FSA testing is accurate to tell how successful I am. It doesn't take in account all of my knowledge and abilities‚ just a small percentage." — Sydney Smoot Can we give this little girl a medal? She was speaking right to my soul with that speech! I reached out to Sydney and her mom‚ Jennifer‚ via email to find out more about what prompted this passionate speech.What inspired you to write your letter?"What inspired me to speak all started one day when I came home. My mom asked me how the testing went‚ and I told her I was told not to speak about the test to anyone. I had not felt comfortable signing something in the test. I had concerns about this test because there was a lot of stress put on students and myself. I was a little nervous before the speech‚ but when I was called up to the podium‚ I did not feel nervous because I knew this speech was going to help a lot of people."Have you ever thought about running for president? Cause I'd vote for you!"I've thought about running for president because if I'm president‚ I will be considerate about the people in this state."You gotta admit‚ she looks pretty good up there‚ right?Parents have a right to be concerned about standardize testing regulations.One thing that really stuck out to me in Sydney's speech was that the FSA prohibits students from talking to their parents about the test. So I was anxious to hear what Sydney's mom thought about the stipulation. She had this to say:"When my daughter came home telling me she had to sign a form stating she couldn't talk to anyone including her parents‚ I got concerned. Not only that I didn't like the fact that the last four of her Social Security number was on the test labels along with other personal information. In today's world of identity theft‚ it doesn't take much for people to get a hold of these things and use them.I would like to tell other parents to learn more before these tests start in your children's school and know what they are testing. They have options‚ you can opt out so to speak‚ and the child can complete alternative testing if they are in the retention grades; or‚ if the child wants to take the test‚ support them and let them know that no matter how they do‚ it does not define them as a person.It's a test and a poorly designed one at best."Standardized tests are changing the classroom. And not for the better.As Sydney shared in her speech‚ she and her classmates are feeling the pressure when it comes to preparing for the FSA. But they aren't the only ones. Teachers are also struggling to get students ready and are often forced to cut corners as a result.What standardized tests also fail to take into account is that in many ways‚ test-taking is a skill‚ one that not every student is ready for. When I was in school‚ we spent months gearing up for the dreaded FCAT‚ the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. And if months of test prep wasn't bad enough‚ if you didn't pass the FCAT‚ you couldn't graduate high school. Talk about stressful! The pressure of your high school career rides on one test‚ combined with the fact that standardized tests don't accurately measure what students have learned. Plenty of capable students fail these tests due to increased anxiety and stress. If high school students are struggling to handle the pressure of standardized testing‚ imagine how difficult it must be for elementary school students like Sydney!Young Sydney is a testament to how important it is that we listen to students and create curriculum that challenges and educates them‚ rather than scaring them into "learning." I think Sydney's suggestion of three comprehensive tests throughout the year makes way more sense than one big statewide test that interferes with teachers' schedules and stresses students out. And let's be real‚ when's the last time you heard a kid ask for MORE tests?! Clearly standardized tests aren't the answer or at least need some serious work. Hopefully Sydney's message will make an impact and get her school board and schools across the nation to rethink how we measure students' success.This article originally appeared on 03.27.15

Looking for a little inspiration this afternoon‚ but don't actually want to be uplifted?Well‚ then get a boost from the solemn Teutonic prose of legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog via the genius Tumblr project Herzog Inspirationals.Take comfort and advice from the man for whom getting shot in the gut was NBD as you learn about the humble simplicity of the chicken or the inner life of birds.This article originally appeared on 09.18.17

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A documentary series promising to showcase the life and career of Elizabeth Taylor is in the works.