Timeline Event: Standardized Testing

One event that has made a historical marking and has also influenced my desire to be a teacher is Standardized testing.  In chapter 6 of Teaching to Change the World, assessments are discussed where they address standardized testing.  This form of testing has occurred for a long time and I am not sure if I agree with the reasons behind the tests.  On page 223 there is a statement that reads, "the test reports, not what or how much a student actually knows, but how ell the student did in relation to the performance of other students"  I understand the general concept of wanting a general form so that students may be measured equally--or what they feel is equal-- to judge the learning that is occurring in a classroom.  Perhaps I am a bit biased since I have never been good at taking these sort of tests so I do not feel they properly measure knowledge or growth in a student.  This subject has influenced my desire to be a teacher in some way so that I may teach not solely so my students perform well on these tests but so they are able to grow with their learning.  I think it would be a shame for someone to only teach so they can boast about the results their students spit out on standardized tests, though this may be important in certain realms I do not feel it should be all that a teacher is concerned about.