Standardized exams

Is it just me or have you noticed that standardized exams are like a political football?

In Ohio, a teaching union doesn't feel any love lost if they're less standardized exams in this world. In Romania, teachers banned a standardized test on the Romania language citing issues over recent hiring and firing policy changes by the Education Department. Something similar is happening in Los Angeles too! Might this be because standardized tests can be used to measure teaching performance as well as student performance?

In Arkansas, they're using different scoring strategies between state and national standardized exams. Their national scores keeping struggling while state exam results are skyrocketing. Guess which set of scores local educators point to?

John Taylor Gatto and his latest book "Weapons of Mass Instruction" is leading the charge by education professionals who feel the mere existence of standardized exams leads to teachers teaching to those exams and neglecting other forms of education thus limited our students to becoming standardized drones. And when you read stories like this one in Florida, you can understand his point.

The poor and underrepresented minorities feel that the rich will always score better on such exams thus perpetuating a cycle of poverty.

In Georgia, some people need to do some explaining about allegations on cheating on their standardized tests.

Standardized tests are frequently misrepresented. They can powerful indicators but can be manipulated in the spirit of "lies, damed lies and statistics". Look no further than the recent debate over Sotomayor and the exams used with firemen. On both sides of the issue people are passionate about what the results of the exams really mean and if the exam was even a valid measure.

Yet a serious alternative to standardized test hasn't emerged in the public debate. Whatever the case, standardized exams aren't going away. They're destined to exist as long as there's a need to judge the masses.