Standardized Tests

I abhor standardized tests. I will never see a point in them and I’m sure many others share my low opinion of them. As a child I felt that I was only as good as the tests told me I was. Every year I would become extremely anxious when we were testing, I knew that I wasn’t going to grade high on the math section and I was friends with some of the smartest kids in school. I would become embarrassed when we received our results and they would ask me in what percentile I was. I feel like I expected myself to do terribly and so I did, which made me put forth less effort in my math classes since I thought I wasn’t smart enough. I also feel like these tests really don’t reflect the districts ability to teach. Not all students are on the same level cognitively, so it is unfair to give the same test to everyone. The special education school in which I am currently employed is now testing. This is completely absurd to me because I know that many of the kids still cannot even read at the age of 12. These students are unable to have assistance from the teacher, and cannot have the questions read aloud to them. What I was told was that these students are only asked to copy the directions of the test and that’s how they take it. What?!? How does this prove anything to the state at all? It really irks me that these antiquated tests are still given to the students and I still cannot see their purpose.