FYI: State Standardized Tests & NCLB

Here are a few observations I've noted about state standardized testing:

Most states prior to NCLB had standardized tests to measure "school success". Sadly, many schools will spend the first 6 weeks in the fall PREPARING for such tests (usually grades 3,6,8,10 depending on the state). Kids are "prepared" by using classical BF Skinner bevahiorist methods and really, a) the kids usually don't learn a whole lot of content anyway, but rather HOW to take a test and give it their best "guess" and b) many kids simply don't care. After spending 6 weeks preparing for a test, they hate and resent the basic idea of the test itself (of course the kids whose parents said, "I'll give you $$ for doing well on the [name] test" will put forth their best effort). I've proctored such tests at the high school level in the last several years and have witnessed a good number of students simply pencil in fancy designs onto the bubble sheet without even opening the test booklet. Others will mark in a few answers randomly and then put their heads down to sleep or listen to their iPods. We need to think critically and carefully about all of this. Making teachers go to school longer isn't going to make a difference. Spending millions of taxpayer funds on testing will not help either. Teaching to the test isn't going to make a difference. I fear deep down that many kids, especially at the high school level, know that the system is not working for them, so why should they comply and make an effort? To quote a former student, when I asked him why he slept through the [name] test, his answer was: "Shit, what's that test got to do with me anyway?"