by Joseph Wardy

Created on: March 28, 2009

The costs of standardized testing is beyond its deep cost financially. No, its cost is at its deepest level as testing is minimal in preparing our children for the rigors and challenges of life.

Testing is a form of reform and reforms don't work in education. Reforms are a modified continuity of what didn't previously work. Do you think testing reform will work? If so, why?

On the flip side, how does testing enhance character and good citizenship? Will testing teach students how to think? Can testing help students get along better with others? Perhaps, it is your contention that testing is the best tool for measuring. Are we measuring what's most important? Can we measure success traits such as confidence, listening. respect, compassion, street smarts etc?

We have academically bright students who are disrespectful and in relationship bankruptcy. By giving test scores highest priority, we run the risk of watching the scoreboard while ignoring the ball. We can emphasize the 3R's without reducing them to the widget mentality of numbers crunching. A former boss of mine said, " Anything to an excess is a liability".

Let's explore the value of standardized testing from the viewpoint of society, the individual and other people. Beginning with society, does the individual exist for society or does society exist for the individual? On the surface, it appears that the individual exists for society. However, it is not accidental that therapists are treating people who are in pain? And people , in part, are in pain because of the mountains of conflicting advice piled on over the years.

One study concluded that college graduates have sat through 35,000 hours of lecture. This experience alone qualifies for mass confusion. Conforming to someone's experience is not pour experience and will not lead to self discovery. Conversely, how much time do student's spend in classrooms on self discovery? yet, Professor Harold Gardner of Harvard concluded that intrapersonal skills and spirituality are tow of the nine primary forms of intelligence. Individuals will create a better society when their behavior matcher their beliefs. There is no connection between standardized testing and self discovery.

Preparing studenta to excel in standardized testing firther reduces the teachable moments that create lifelong learning. Extensive research indicates that 80 percent of what is learned is forgotten in 48 hours if not applied practically. Is the subject matter on a standardized test the mechanism of preparing pour children for the challenges of life or to boost the academic quality at thee expense of true educational excellence?

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