I think the state has said loudly and clearly that the state will set the goal, but will allow local school districts to figure out how to meet the goal. If you've gone to a resource room, where they are trying to pump up scores, it's not a pretty thing to see. Sure sounds that way. Children progress at different levels, especially during the early years. It doesn't make sense.
Some observers add that testing represents a return to a top-down, industrial management style.
Teachers atomize knowledge to prepare students for the familiar multiple choice tests. While tests may use computation to measure math ability, the true measure of achievement should be problem solving, he says, not individual facts. The high-stakes outcome of some tests leads to cheating, and not just by students. The high stakes associated with some tests have caused teachers and administrators to pull to the hanky-panky. An elementary-school principal resigned in Potomac, Md., amidst charges that he'd coached children on state tests.