Ten years ago, according to Jim Wright a former Texas congressman, the state ranked 39 th in the country in the percent of its students who finished high school, an abysmal ranking for the reputed education governor. High stakes testing was implemented with the intent to correct this. There is also the stigma of being labeled a failure. The list of problems continues. High-stakes tests have lead to widespread cheating.
Students are the ultimate losers.
Schools with low or borderline scores are focusing so much on teaching to the test that the test has effectively become the curriculum. These teachers were hired to teach children how to learn, and yet their being treated like professional coaches a couple of losing seasons - out you go. All of this and much more in support of a test that the experts concede doesn t actually measure true learning. The characteristics of a good learner, according to educator Bill Ayers, are things that standardized tests cannot measure. Education expert across the country point to thinking and communicating, gaining and applying knowledge, and working and communicating as signs of true learning, and urge teachers to use methods of assessment that strengthen these areas.