90% of secondary schools worldwide today use standardized tests with a pass rate of only 60%. Ankur Singh, a high school student, was ready for his Advanced Placement (AP) courses, but found that his excitement would quickly turn to frustration and failing grades. Singh went to class expecting to analyze characters and themes in literature, but instead found that his entire year was filled with 50-minute, question-based essays to prepare for upcoming standardized tests. Instead of continuing his outstanding previous pattern of academic excellence, he began performing very poorly in his AP classes. Singh expressed his frustration by stating that all of his AP classes taught specifically about college preparation and standardized tests rather than focusing on authentic learning. He continued to state, “I was not challenged. My lessons are easy. All I have to do is memorize the textbook and throw it up during the test. I'm not learning anything. I'm not growing up." (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2012/11/09/one-teens-standardized-testing-horror-story-and-where-it-will- lead/) Not only If parents and students disagree with standardized tests, educators finally oppose At Garfield High School in Seattle, teachers have unanimously decided not to administer standardized reading and math tests. Teachers have sent letters to parents giving them the option to opt out of testing for their student. Teachers comment that these tests are "an inappropriate measure of the effectiveness of the teacher's teaching." www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/11/when-parents-yank-their-kids-out-of-standardized-tests/281417/) Hiss, former dean of admissions at Bates College in Lewiston, ... ... half of the document ...... c education in 1965, when President Johnson passed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in an effort to provide a better quality of education that was equal for all children, and a modern educational reform movement was unleashed. In 2002, standardized tests increased even more when they became the most important tool used to evaluate students, teachers, schools, and entire districts after the passage of the “No Child Left Behind” law (NCLB). NCLB was a direct attempt to improve how U.S. students ranked educationally compared to other nations, and it led to a phenomenal increase in testing requirements and student evaluations. Ironically, between 2000 and 2009, American students fell from 18th to 31st in the world rankings in mathematics, with a similar decline in science scores as well.. )