Author Suggests Standardized Testing Only Benefits Testing Companies

Author Todd Farley writes at the Washington Post (4/12) "Answer Sheet" blog about the fallibility of the data that is gleaned from standardized testing, suggesting that it can "be manipulated to tell any story. We know that a school administration-by making test questions easier or lowering cut scores-can portray improvement in its classrooms even when such improvement doesn't really exist, as happened most recently in 2009 in the New York City schools." He also alludes to the actions of "rogue" school staff changing data, adding that "testing companies fudge numbers all the time," and suggests that the US education system is simply falling for their sales pitch.