Poor test scores decrease self esteem, possibly leading to social and discipline problems. Testing can damage the trust relationship between teacher and student. Test scores and grading are a divisive force in families, separating parents from their natural position as the child's first and most committed teacher. Reliance on standardized test scores reduces initiative, independence, creativity, and willingness to take risks in learning situations. The drive for high test scores creates unnecessary, unproductive stress.
Standardized tests promote under achievement.
Test makers assume that all children have equal readiness for all subjects at the same age. Tests focus on a narrow band of learning, emphasizing memorization skills. Reliance on test scores and grades causes students to drop courses of study. It is worth noting that standardized tests, in addition to being narrowly focused and frequently misused comparative measurements of academic progress, are powerful teachers in their own right. Only when these instruments have been imposed on huge populations of students for many years can we begin to see that the tests take on a teaching life of their own, quite apart from the intentions of their creators.