Standardized testing

Standardized testing is something you're bound to come across in public schools as soon as first grade. I remember taking test after test as a public school student, and I can't really say I ever got anything out of it. These tests are putting so much pressure on teachers and students a like. A bunch of old men sitting around a table who've never even stepped foot in my school can make a test and say that it evaluates what students have learned as a whole. The problem with standardized testing, its just that, its standardized. Humans strive by working with their peers, giving them the chance to directly feed off of what others are thinking. However this is being pushed aside by the hustle and bustle of teaching a multiple choice test. Standardized testing is being over used and abused. How we are testing, who we are testing, why we are testing. We need to evaluate if its really worth all the money and trouble in the end. According to the teachers on the receiving end these tests seem to be doing more harm than help. Teachers feel they are just teaching a multiple choice test now to assure that their students do well. Testing also takes money, resulting in many districts cutting programs such as arts. Standardized testing is also a money making business, someone out there needs to sell these tests to your school district so they can take a pay check home. Most teachers have a negative attitude about testing because it bring more heartache than help. This needs to be evaluated to assure that we are getting some positive useful information out of our tests. Each time a new test is given out to teachers they receive a booklet on the material that could be on that test. This is significant because a class scoring poorly on any standardized test can result in the teacher being fired. However most teachers find it hard to implement the testing material into their everyday routine. I find that to be somewhat concerning since the test is suppose to be an evaluation of