John Oliver explains how standardized tests impact school funding, the achievement gap, how often kids are expected to throw up (contains Adult Language).

The problem with standardized tests is that they don’t do a good job of assessing student’s knowledge or capabilities. They don’t pinpoint gaps in student’s understanding of a topic. It does not encourage Master learning and there is no feedback loop to the teacher on areas where the student is having trouble with.

A better option would be a personal assessment of each student either by another teacher or a Learning Management software program. Khan Academy uses this method to do assessments of the student before proceeding to the next topic.

This immediate feedback loop allows

• The teacher can check which areas the student is having trouble in and assign additional help from peers or do a 1:1 session
• The Principal can see the over progress of the students and see what areas they need help in and if needed, drill down to the student to see what issues they are facing.
• The School District, State and Federal Govt. can view overall progress reports and see how the school is performing based on what the students have mastered.

Tiny tests to measure Knowledge absorption work better than High Stakes Standardized tests.