However, a nationwide exam might ill-serve regional needs and diverse populations. Further, a national testing program might encourage a national curriculum, an idea hotly debated in many countries. Choice means to what degree students can decide which tests to take to assess their abilities. Choice gives individual students the chance to demonstrate their interests, strengths, and potential. Using different tests, however, weakens the sense of a national culture and confuses the interpretation of the scores.
Tests can take various formats.
Many educators argue that multiple-choice tests yield objective, comparable scores. And these tests are relatively inexpensive and easy to administer. But others argue that performance-type questions are more closely aligned to curricular goals and give more valid measures of the types of skills we're trying to instill in students. Score reports can also take various forms. Descriptions and multiple scores, however, can give much more information.