Standardized Testing

Standardized testing has become a large part of the public educational system. These tests carry a tremendous amount of weight when judging the academic performance of students. Additionally, we find that testing is also a determinant in funding for public schools along with a basis for which teachers performance is judged. I do understand that some type of system must be in place in order to make sure that students are achieving at an appropriate rate. However, these tests do not always tell the entire story. Many times students who have excellent grades including "A" students have a hard time passing these tests. Many very good students are just not good test takers. It is my opinion that in evaluating students, one must also take into consideration their entire body of work. Even tests such as the ACT and SAT cannot measure how hard a person will work for their particular goal. In the day and age of standardized testing my belief is that something is being left out. Hard work. In addition, schools have started "teaching to the test". What this means is that these students are only being taught what will be on particular tests for a certain period of time. What this amounts to are glorified study tables that are not an indication of what students actually know. But, what students have crammed, or memorized for these tests. Since when are grades not good enough to determine the validity of an education? What has effectively been done is taking the education of our youth out of the hands of the educators and into the hands of politicians.