No, quite the opposite in fact. Assessments are an essential part of teaching and learning. As an educator, I assessed my students' knowledge acquisition and performance on a daily basis. Good assessments reflect real world problems and are meaningful, not to the state, but to the student. One example of a good assessment is the Qualitative Reading Inventory II (QRI II). This assessment is a “running record” that requires a student to choose a passage from two or three options and read aloud. The teacher then records any specific errors and asks a series of comprehension questions at the end. Following along as the child reads the teacher records self-corrections, phonics strategies, word substitutions, and additional diagnostic information that assist both the student and the teacher and informs future teacher instructional and personalized student learning objectives.

When I administered the QRIII to my fourth graders, I audio taped the assessment at the beginning of the year and then again at the end. Students would listen to the tapes and look over their errors recorded on the written reading passages. They would then provide a summary of their own progress as well as a plan for improvement. QRIs have very specific criteria for scoring students. All of the reading passages are leveled so that grade-level progress can be tracked over time. These kinds of assessments are much more effective than state standardized tests. They provide diagnostic information rather than merely indicating passing or failing the test criteria. Results are also immediately available instead of the following year when the class has moved on, as is the custom with state tests. Authentic assessments are administered in the classroom context under safe conditions, evaluated by trained and experienced educators, and provide immediate feedback to students, teachers, parents, and administrators, allowing for schools to effectively track student progress.

Another drawback with CSAP is that it costs more than 50 million dollars each year to develop, administer, score, and report. Over time this costs us in terms of larger class sizes, enrichment programs, curriculum resources, technology tools, music, art, athletics, and so forth. School closures are part of budget resources inefficiently directed at bureaucratic red tape and bad legislation. The costs of our country's untapped human potential will be colossal.

The other alarming problem is that the expectation reinforced by high-stakes testing represents the lowest common denominator. Linear, narrow, simple, and single dimensional bubbles do not constitute aptitude in the areas of reading, writing, scientific reasoning, and mathematical problem solving. Graduating an entire generation with the exact same knowledge frameworks and skill set puts us at a national disadvantage in a globally oriented and highly competitive world. Standardization is counter to a social, political, and economic structure that demands ingenuity, diversification, and adaptability.