<p>My 6 siblings and I started taking "Iowa Tests" (standardized tests) in the first grade (many stone ages ago). We did NOT "spend hours learning how to bubble". Bubbling is NOT a hard concept to learn. We had a practice one and that was it. My kids also started taking standardized tests in the first grade. It is a gross exageration to think that schools across the nation are spending hours and hours teaching "how to bubble". Plus, now many teachers use scantron tests for regular tests so kids are very familiar with the process.</p>