"Standardized tests reward passive, superficial learning, drive instruction in undesirable directions, and thwart meaningful educational reformTeachers, researchers, and other educators have expressed widespread disenchantment with the results of several decades of standardized testing in American public schools. Evidence strongly suggests that standardized testing flies in the face of recent advances in our understanding of how people learn to think and reason. Repeatedly in the research over the past few years, especially in the grade school arena (K-12), one finds evidence that traditional tests reinforce passive, rote learning of facts and formulas, quite contrary to the active, critical thinking skills many educators now believe schools should be encouraging. Many suspect that the speeded, multiple-choice tests are themselves powerful incentives for compartmentalized and superficial learningAt the K-12 level, teachers often don't believe the tests accurately measure their students' abilities, and do believe thatwidespread practice of "teaching to the test" renders test scores virtually meaningless. In 1994, the journal EducationalPolicy published a study on teachers' views of standardized tests. Just 3 percent of teachers in one sample agreed that suchtests are generally good, "whereas 77 percent felt that tests are bad and not worth the time and money spent on them."According to the study, about eight in ten teachers believe their colleagues teach to the tests. (4)" Standardized Minds by peter Stacks
"While researching on the computer, my son took great delight in finding obscure facts about Henson. He fantasized out loud about how impressed his teachers and classmates would be once they saw his great report. I had never seen him so excited about school work. He really identified with Henson, not only because he and Henson are both African Americans, which was clearly important to him, but also because he was excited about the opportunity to be an explorer himself. What excited him most was the novelty of the information and the fact that Henson wasn't one of the explorers the class as a whole was studying. As he said to me, "Mom, I'm being an explorer in social studies!" When he turned in his report, he got a much different reaction than he expected. His teacher patiently explained that although his hard work was obvious and it was a great report, he would have to do another report on Christopher Columbus instead. It turns out that Matthew Henson isn't on Virginia's high-stakes test, known as the Standards of Learning (SOL).Like any mother, I called the teacher. I tried hard to be understanding. She said she felt bad about her decision and admitted that she knew what it meant to my son to be so excited about school. But, she rationalized, it wasn't her fault. She was trying to make sure he passed the Virginia test. After all, so much was on the line." Makani Themba Nixon