• too much school time is
given over to test prep — and the pressure to lift
scores leads to cheating and other unsavory practices; • subjects and accomplishments that aren't tested — art, creativity, leadership, independent thinking, etc. — are getting squeezed if not discarded; • teachers are losing their freedom to practice their craft, to make classes interesting and stimulating, and to act like professionals; • the curricular homogenizing that generally follows from standardized tests and state (or national) standards represents an undesirable usurpation of school autonomy, teacher freedom, and local control by distant authorities; and • judging teachers and schools by pupil test
scores is inaccurate and unfair,
given the kids» different starting points and home
circumstances, the variation in class sizes and school resources, and the many other services that schools and teachers are now expected to provide their students.
One of the basic critiques of using test
scores for accountability purposes has always been that simple averages, except in rare
circumstances, don't tell us much about the quality of a
given school or teacher.
Even worse, many employers now run a credit check as part of their job application process, and a particularly low credit
score might be seen as a lack of financial responsibility on your part — fair or unfair as that may be,
given your
circumstances.