Standardized testing is used as a public policy strategy to establish stronger accountability measures for public education. While the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) has served as an educational barometer for some thirty years by administering standardized tests on a regular basis to random schools throughout the United States, efforts over the last decade at the state and federal levels have mandated annual standardized test administration for all public schools across the country. Standardized testing is any test that is used across a variety of schools or other situations. ... Public policy is a policy or set of policies which forms the foundation of public law. ...

The idea behind the standardized testing policy movement is that testing is the first step to improving schools, teaching practice, and educational methods through data collection. Proponents argue that the data generated by the standardized tests act like a 'report card' for the community, demonstrating how well local schools are performing. Critics of the movement, however, point to various discrepancies that result from current state standardized testing practices, including problems with test validity and reliability and false correlations (see Simpson's paradox). Simpsons paradox (or the Yule-Simpson effect) is a statistical paradox described by E. H. Simpson in 1951 and G. U. Yule in 1903, in which the successes of several groups seem to be reversed when the groups are combined. ...

Critics charge that standardized tests became a mandatory curriculum placed into schools without public debate and without any accountability measures of its own. Many feel this ignores basic democratic principles in that control of schools' curricula is removed from local school boards, which are the nominal curricular authority in the U.S. While some maintain that it would be preferable to simply introduce mandatory national curricula, others feel that state mandated standardized testing should stop altogether in order that schools can focus their efforts on instructing their students as they see fit. Democracy (from Greek δημοκρατία (demokratia), δημος (demos) the common people + κρατειν (kratein) to rule + the suffix ία (ia), literally the common people rule) is a form of government where the population of a society controls the government. ... This article or section should be merged with board of education A school board (or school committee) is an elected council that helps determine educational policy in a small regional area, such as a city, state, or province. ... Motto: E pluribus unum (1789 to present) (Latin: Out of Many, One) In God We Trust (1956 to present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York, New York Official language(s) None at federal level; English de facto Government • President • Vice President Federal republic...

Critics also charge that standardized tests encourage "teaching to the test" at the expense of creativity and in-depth coverage of subjects not on the test. Multiple choice tests are criticised for failing to assess skills such as writing. Furthermore, student's success is being tracked to a teachers' relative performance making teacher advancement contingent upon a teacher's success with a student's academic performance. Ethical and economical questions arise for teachers when faced with clearly underperforming or underskilled students and a standardized test.

See also Education, education reform, and school choice, alternative assessment To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... School choice describes one form of publicly-funded alternative education program that allows students to choose to attend any of various participating private and public schools, usually based on a system of vouchers or scholarships. ... In the education industry, alternative assessment or portfolio assessment is in direct contrast to what is known as performance evaluation, traditional assessment, or summative assessment. ...

External links

• The Concept of Statistical Significance Testing. ERIC/AE Digest.
• The State of State Proficiency Testing in Science. ERIC Digest.
• The Debate over National Testing. ERIC Digest.