How American schools standardized madness

Want to help teachers? Eliminate standardized tests (and give them more money, too).

Students taking a standardized test.
(Image credit: Illustrated | keith morris / Alamy Stock Photo)

It’s hard not be cynical about the consultant-driven adjunct of the tech industry we call "education" in this country.

Like most lines of business these days, education is bad news for everyone involved. Its employees are not always paid especially well. Its clients, so to speak, are getting almost nothing for their money, unless being able to brag about how proficient their offspring have become at filling in bubble sheets that will be assessed by a robot is evidence of "learning."

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Matthew Walther

Matthew Walther is a national correspondent at The Week. His work has also appeared in First Things, The Spectator of London, The Catholic Herald, National Review, and other publications. He is currently writing a biography of the Rev. Montague Summers. He is also a Robert Novak Journalism Fellow.