However, paramount among the problems afflicting our public
education system today are the methods and means of assessment
which regulate and effectively tie the hands of educators and
administrators in servicing students in the classroom and school
environments. Most directly what I am referring to is the weight
placed upon Standardized Examinations as the panacea measure by
which all students are deemed successes or failures. While such
examinations have undeniable uses (such as taking skills
inventories, and determining developmental norms) they don’t
necessarily benefit the entirety of a population, nor do they
measure the application or depth of knowledge and skills. Aside
from the obvious statement that these tests can’t possibly
service all students I must raise the question how could these
tests possibly service all students? We live in a country where
driving laws may not be consistent from town to town and county
to county yet we are to believe that tests developed far and
wide could be made applica