I don’t. I don’t like the reliance on standardized tests. I don’t like that my kids have to spend so much time “prepping” for tests. I see on my district calendar that kids are already testing…. I don’t like the fact that schools/districts have to have a staff person to coordinate the testing  – money that could be fund other types of staff, like teachers! I don’t like that my children are defined by the scores they get on the test.

I appreciated this article yesterday in Salon, “America’s Toxic Culture of Testing” by Luba Vangelova. I love the main quote:

Our country’s testing obsession benefits corporations, not kids.

That pretty much sums it up, although she has a number of other excellent points:

• test prep eats time that could be used for other things – such as play
• costs a great deal of money
• teaches students that they can’t be “wrong”
• labels kids
• leads to a less creative environment

Just read the article.