Mother hopes others will opt out of standardized testing

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/03/20/pennsylvania.school.testing/index.html?iref=allsearch

When I read this article I immediately thought of the book I'm reading, The Global Achievement Gap.  Schools are focusing more and more on preparing students for standardized testing and worrying about their achievement rather than worrying about if their students are learning anything they can take into the real world. What good will taking a test do in the real world? It probably will do very little.

This article talks about how parents have the option to take their children out of the standardized testing due to religion; however, one mother says it goes far deeper than religion and she feels that the tests do not represent the schools very well or her child.

Some parents feels that there is less curriculum and more focus on preparing students for these standardized tests and this disappoints parents because it does not accurately portray the schools or their children.

Some parents think that the parents that are taking their kids away from standardized testing are hurting education. There are two sides to this story and either one has valid points.

I do feel that schools are focusing less on the needed curriculum and are trying to focus more on preparing students for standardized testing. I think this is okay for the time being; however, one needs to look at the bigger picture. How are these tests going to help these children as adults? Will they help with social skills? Will they help in a job interview? Will they help in a job? Not really..  It almost seems schools are in a race to be at the top.  As in the book, "The Global Achievement Gap".. There are many good schools; however, what are the students learning? They  are basically learning how to take a test and in the end this isn't something that is going to help them in their future.