Everyone sat there in nervous anticipation as the large white envelopes were passed out. Why were these scores so important to our futures? The guidance counselors had drilled into our heads that without these test scores we would not get into college. If the grades were so important, why was I so calm? I did not experience nervous anticipation since I had opted not to take the SAT's. Although at that point, I was trying to figure out exactly why I felt so insecure with my decision. Now here I am at college pursuing a teaching degree in elementary education, without taking the SAT's. Is that possible?

Currently, I am in the process of becoming a teacher. Therefore, the issue of state standards and assessments in schools is very pertinent to me. I am going to have to teach the future generations that will be judged according to standardized tests.

Many of the tests that I have taken in schoo

"There should be a gentler way to monitor the success of our schools and the progress of our children" ("Standardized Testing"). As demonstrated by this quote, the root of the solution to the education problem in America has to do with the need to eliminate competitive test scores, not with the need to improve students' performance on them. It is critical to recognize that the schools cannot be changed in any important sense until fixed curricula are eliminated. Fixed curricula will not be eliminated until we change the way we assess students.

It is difficult to avoid being evaluated in our society. We have arrived at the point where we are so used to being graded all the time that we expect it in every aspect of life. We are forever striving for "hard" numeric ranks. I can not say whether an alternative form of assessment will ever replace standardized testing but we should all be aware of the implications standardized testing can have on students and their futures.

It is my opinion t

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Approximate Word count = 671
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)