Great idea. I just started a blog on that issue at stoptest.wordpress.com.

I’m glad that someone is addressing this! I’m currently doing a debate topic about standardized exit exams, and I’m glad people out there know the negative effects of these tests. =) Thanks for talking about it and I hope people listen!

I think that standardized tests contradicts the purpose of “No Child Left Behind”.

Standardized testing isn’t the only bad thing we’ve got going. The kids are NOT being prepared for these tests in large part because of the grading policies most teachers adhere to. For example, kids get zeroes for not handing in a piece of work. Doesn’t mean he doesn’t know HOW to do it just that he didn’t hand it in. Kids are getting As because they are handing in the pieces of paper but who only perform minimally on assessments/test/quizzes which do show what they have learned. I rail against this practice any chance I get. It is hurting achievement. Kids are being failed a grade because they did not hand in a piece a work or didn’t do bell work, or failed a notebook check (what is that?), etc. I’m a teacher and I am sickened by the stupidity of these grading procedures. They measure nothing. Teachers can say, “He had the assignment; he didn’t do it. F for him. I did my part. Next” The teacher is off the hook this way. The students should be evaluated on their assessments, not on the classwork, etc which is supposed to get them to learn the content that they will then be assessed on!. Of course the teachers will rebut this by saying, “if I had to grade them only on their assessments, all my kids would fail.” Oh, yeah? Then you need to do something different so the kids will learn what you set out to teach! But, this takes work and self reflection. I know I have an uphill battle in getting teachers to see the errors of their ways (they ignore most of what they learned in school about assessments) and just take the path of least resistance. All one has to do is read cognitive pyschologists on my point. I’m dead on.