Extra Credit
Standardized Testing
In the argument between the affirmative and negative side of whether or not the use of standardized tests improve education, both sides clearly presented the history and status quo of how standardized tests have been a part of American education since the mid 1800s. Each side touched upon their own opinions about No Child Left Behind Act, and how the US students slipped from 18th in the world in math in 200 to 31st place in 2009, with a similar decline in science and no change in reading. The affirmative side says the tests are neither fair nor objective, that their use promotes a narrow curriculum and that teachers are teaching to the test. They also argued that excessive testing undermines America’s