Testing Fails: Why standardized tests miss the mark in human learning

When my daughter was in elementary school, she had a truly incredible teacher. This teacher loved all things French—the language, the food, the culture. Her classroom was filled with maps of Paris, French phrases, and photos of chateaus and baguettes. She poured her passion into her teaching, exposing kids to a world many of them had never imagined.

She did her best to introduce the language and create an immersive experience. The kids loved it. They were curious, excited, and for a few moments each week, lit up with the kind of enthusiasm you wish you could bottle.

But it never lasted.

Every time her lessons began to build momentum, she was forced to stop. Testing season was coming. She had to start "teaching to the test."

Instead of letting the kids dive deeper into French culture, she handed them test-prep packets. Instead of following their curiosity, she followed a pacing guide. Instead of teaching, she was drilling. The spark faded from her classroom, and eventually, from her as well.

She told my wife how disheartening it was to watch her students light up with interest—only to be pulled back into the grind of computer labs and practice tests. Over time, it wore her down. She became disillusioned not with her students, but with a system that seemed so backwards. A system that measured everything, yet captured nothing meaningful.

And that story is just one of thousands.

In America, we've created a school culture where testing is the end goal, not the byproduct. We spend months prepping for it. Then weeks administering it. Then weeks recovering from it. And what do we get? A temporary snapshot of memorized information—most of which students forget within days.

This isn't a fringe claim. Studies show that students forget 50-80% of what they memorize for standardized tests within a matter of weeks. And that’s when they’re trying. Even more troubling is the emotional toll: anxiety, boredom, disengagement. Testing, when done wrong, doesn’t just fail to measure learning. It kills it.

But here's the thing: assessment isn’t the problem. In fact, assessment can be incredibly powerful when it’s used for learning instead of against it.

We need to stop thinking of assessment as this big, stressful event. Instead, think of it like a compass. It tells us where a student is. It helps us figure out where to go next. When done right, it doesn’t interrupt learning—it deepens it.

Instead of high-stakes standardized tests, imagine:

• Performance tasks where students apply their knowledge to real-world problems.
• Project-based assessments that let students show what they understand through creation, not memorization.
• Student-led conferences where learners reflect on their growth and articulate what they’re proud of and what they still want to improve.
• Portfolios that track learning over time, not just in one moment.

We don’t need to get rid of assessment. We need to redefine it.

Because when assessment is done right, students don’t dread it. They rise to it. They don’t forget it—they remember it. And most importantly, it doesn’t pull the rug out from under passion-driven learning. It supports it. 

Start thinking of assessment like running the hundred meters at the track event, or playing the football game against your opponent. The main event, the real thing, gives you an idea of where you’re at, while focusing on the more important matter in education: what kind of a person a student is turning into. 

It’s time we stop measuring what doesn’t matter, and start building systems that honor the complexity, curiosity, and potential of every learner.

That’s the kind of education worth fighting for. And that’s what we’re building.