The problem with education is that these tests treat students as a commodity. "Standardized" tests tend not to be even remotely useful in diagnosing the positiv

The problem with education is that these tests treat students as a commodity. "Standardized" tests tend not to be even remotely useful in diagnosing the positive social capability of a human being. It is a travesty that American teachers and administrators are put in situations where they feel that they have to falsify results because their students are not reaching them. The learning capabilities and specialties of students are as diverse as the rest of human nature, and the best way to create proper incentives for students and teachers is to build a pervasive culture that rewards learning and meaningful contribution to society. Perhaps American education needs to edit its message: aligning extracurricular American cultural values to highlight the positive effects of learning on success will likely increase test scores more than the next set of standardized whatevers that get thrown at them by an overwhelmed, out-of-touch committee.