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Why are there standardized tests?

They've been around for decades, but the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001 pushed them to the forefront.

ATLANTA — ATLANTA – Georgia wants to waive standardized testing during the COVID-19 pandemic while some question why the tests have taken such a prominent role in education.

In June, Governor Brian Kemp and State School Superintendent Richard Woods asked the U.S. Department of Education for permission to suspend standardized testing during the 2020-21 school year. The state canceled the tests at the end of the 2019-20 year.

“These efforts are in line with our longstanding shared believe that assessment has a place and a purpose in education, but the current high-stakes testing regime is excessive,” Kemp and Woods said in a joint statement. “We are hopeful the federal government will recognize that the upcoming school year will not be business as usual and will accept our request for a standardized testing waiver.”

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Standardized tests have been around for decades. They are controversial. Here’s why they exist. Statewide, standardized tests compare a student’s progress to that of their peers. When Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, the tests became a way of gauging the performance of teachers and schools.

“No Child Left Behind put standardized test scores as a mechanism of accountability,” says Georgia Association of Educators President Lisa Morgan. “It put the standardized test front and center.”

Proponents say standardized tests are an objective measure of a student’s knowledge and can help identify problem areas for them as well as their teachers and schools.

It can help guide where funding is needed.

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“It can provide information about gaps in their knowledge and strength in what they know,” says Morgan.

Morgan is among the educators who say the tests provide a snapshot of a child’s education, but not the entire picture.

“Our children are tested and tested and tested,” says Morgan. “There are some biases built into these tests and it’s become the focus rather than teaching and learning.”

Georgia lawmakers voted to reduce the number of standardized tests. Still, it looks like the tests and the debate are here to stay.

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