What use is it?

I'm a high school sophomore in Pennsylvania, and all the students in my school recently had to take the Keystones (a new test issued by the state for 8th grade and above about 2 years ago, in addition to the standardized testing we already had in elementary and middle school called the PSSAs). Needless to say, it was ridiculous. We were "taught to the test" in science class, as we were in algebra class in 8th grade (when the Keystones were first issued). Anyone who had to use the bathroom while they were taking the test had to be escorted by a teacher. The rules about having no electronics in the testing room were so strict that my diabetic friend had to get special permission to be able to have his insulin pump with him (they were actually worried that he would be able to use it to cheat somehow ). What's the point of trying to keep everyone at the same level anyway? Different people are better at and know different things. I'm a biology enthusiast, but someone else might be more interested in literature or something like that, so why would we both be expected to be on the same level on either subject. We are not the Borg. We have something called individuality. What ever happened to learning for the purpose of learning, not to appease the state?

Please keep political comments to a minimum.

Kill them with fire. That's all I have to say about standardized tests. They switch focus from learning to preparing for a test and cramming knowledge.

Hyup, standardized testing is pretty useless. I remember hearing a quote at some point about this. It pretty much went like "You can't judge a fish by it's ability to climb a tree."

It's perfectly anologous to this situation. Like Nightingale said; education is more so about cramming lessons so you can take a test than actually teaching in a way that helps kids memorize the subject beyond the date of said test.

ST is a joke. Your not really being properly taught anything. Your only being taught what you need to know to pass a test that is only used so your school/district/state can gloat and say "look how smart our students are!".

Finland.

? I don't get it

Yup, and I hate those freaking tests. For students in Flordia, it's the stupid freaking FCAT test. Still super thankful I managed to graduate Highschool through the Highschool Competency Test which allowed me the entire day to take the test. I just can't perform under pressure because I become a clock watcher. I understand the need to prove students are performing and learning the material, but there has to be another way besides "teaching" them a test and then making them freak out by saying if they don't pass it, they get held back.

There's nothing intrinsically bad about standardised testing; it can be put to good use.

It is useful for policy makers and education administrators to get data on how students from different schools are performing. If two schools with very similar socioeconomic conditions, very similar facilities, very similar religious/ethnic student bodies, etc. often perform quite differently on the tests, then there's something for policy makers and education administrators to look at. What are the teachers doing in the classroom; are they engaging their students? Are the school administrators (principals, etc.) properly supporting teachers?

Is our children learning?

Fins take a single standardized test in their entire school years, and the country has one of the highest graduation rates in the world.

While they may seem pointless, I'm sure that they have some benefit to them, besides acting as some kind of dike measuring competition among the schools. You could look at the statistics and find out how all the schools and students are holding up against other schools, and perhaps find ways to improve the schools where the results have been poorer.

edit: pretty much what srk said.