Standardized Tests

Although I do not think that standardized tests are necessarily a valid juge of someone's knowledge, I do think that they should still be used in eduacation. These kinds of tests enable student's scores from all over the nation to be compared. Due to the fact that these tests do not actually affect a student's grade, they can give the student/their parents an idea of where they are at compared to other students. These tests can also show a student's progress over the years because these tests are given every year starting in elementary and continuing until high school. I feel like as long as these tests are being used only as a commonality to compare student's scores, then their purpose is justifiable. However, I do not feel these tests should be used to grade a student's knowledge or determine a teacher's salary. If standardized tests are used effectively, they can benefit the assessment aspect of education, therefore I do feel that they should still be used today.