Evidence is growing of harm to children's health. Parents, teachers, school nurses and psychologists, and child psychiatrists are reporting increased levels of stress and anxiety caused by tests. Test-stress, they report, is literally making children sick. The technology of testing is flawed. Tests are subject to numerous forms of error and often do not accurately measure students' knowledge or ability.
Test scores have meaning only in the context of the whole child.
In the absence of context, tests may not measure anything meaningful, or have any connection to other more authentic measures of achievement. More high-stakes testing means more dropouts and fewer good teachers. Research suggests that high-stakes testing leads to large increases in the number of school dropouts, especially among minority and poor youth. It also contributes to the flight of good teachers from public schools. Standardization is the enemy of effective public schools.