Standardized Testing Is Damaging Our Children’s Love for Learning

Standardized testing and Common Core Standards were established by elites in this country for profit, amounting to billions of dollars each year paid by taxpayers. By following the money, we can uncover the political corruption inherent in this system. Testing has been around for decades, but when the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act was passed in 2002, testing skyrocketed as the government imposed a federal mandate requiring schools to test in order to receive federal funding. The result? Educational corporations began to enjoy significant profits as they developed, administered, and assessed standardized tests, often alongside mandated hiring requirements for “accredited” test providers. Notable companies involved include Harcourt Educational Measurement, CTB/McGraw-Hill, Riverside Publishing, and NCS Pearson.

How did these standardized testing corporations make billions more? They crafted the

Common Core State Standards, which effectively became the answer key and study guide for all standardized tests. This monopoly on education has significantly boosted their revenues, as they continue to ignore the harm they are inflicting on children, turning them into unimaginative machines lacking courage, self-confidence, determination, and a genuine love for learning.

Consider the state of Georgia, which was at the center of one of the largest cheating scandals involving standardized testing in the United States in 2009. Numerous educators and principals in many schools were implicated. Yet, our government and these corporations have failed to address this ongoing fraud, which continues to damage children in profound ways. Unless we decisively choose a different path for education, we will continue to expose children to this systemic abuse.

"Does a child truly develop critical thinking skills and become an independent thinker by filling in bubbles and adhering to a rigid set of principles deemed true or false by test producers? Is choosing among A, B, C, D, E, or F on test forms every day an effective way to enhance problem-solving and analytical skills?" When I began my homeschooling journey in 1998, I asked God for wisdom and discernment as I created my educational standards, curriculum, experiences, and goals. My aim was to provide my daughters with a positive, stress-free, and enriching educational atmosphere that embraced their God-given talents as they learned that honesty, self-confidence, courage, creativity, patience, compassion, curiosity, respectfulness, and discipline are among the most honorable values. How did God answer me?

“Kathleen, always remember where your child’s soul was before the beginning of life in the flesh and where your child’s soul will be after the end of life in the flesh. This should be your ultimate educational and life goal: to lead your daughters on a path less traveled where they will have countless opportunities to experience My love, so that one day they might choose to love Me as much as you do.”

Interested in homeschooling in Atlanta, Georgia?