English 302 Sarah McNamara Opinion Essay-Revised 10/5/00 The Evils of Standardized Testing Everyone sat there in nervous anticipation as the large white envelopes were passed out. Why were these scores so important to our futures? The guidance counselors had drilled into our heads that without these test scores we would not get into college. If the grades were so important, why was I so calm? I did not experience nervous anticipation since I had opted not to …showed first 75 words of 678 total…

…showed last 75 words of 678 total…avoid being evaluated in our society. We have arrived at the point where we are so used to being graded all the time that we expect it in every aspect of life. We are forever striving for "hard" numeric ranks. I can not say whether an alternative form of assessment will ever replace standardized testing but we should all be aware of the implications standardized testing can have on students and their futures. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**