If so, you re not alone. The recent emphasis on standards-based education reform has meant more standardized tests being administered throughout the United States. Over 48 states now administer statewide tests, and 36 publish results from individual schools. A major factor is that similar test results reported from countries throughout the world have often shown U.S. students lagging behind their foreign peers. Intensive media coverage of these differences has fueled a national paranoia, resulting in the public s demand for national educational reform.
Some states are rewarding results and punishing failure in hopes of assuring that children learn.
One-third of the states that test have the power to close or take over failing schools. Over one-quarter of the states give extra funding to schools based on their performance. Clearly, the stakes are high. Many candidates have publicly identified school reform as one of their highest priorities, staking their careers on the changes they promise to make. Every classroom s scores are part of the bottom line.