<p>Researchers have found that group standardized tests before 3rd grade are not particularly valid. This is because too many kids younger than 3rd grade don't have the reading skills necessary to take group standardized tests. Some researchers even question the validity of results from 3rd graders.</p>
<p>Jlauer - I agree that there is some validity to evaluating school based on standardized tests. My biggest gripe is that the tests only evaluate a small portion of what teachers teach in school. For example, the state test in math in our state may have 3 questions for geometry, 4 in fractions, 2 for measurments, etc. How can you evaluate a school's math program based on that? Also, they can't evaluate a student's ability to work in a lab, to speak in public, to work in a group, to describe something orally - the list goes on. Standardized tests, as they are currently administered in the US, only measure a small portion of what is taught and I don't know if they do that very well. Evaluating schools only on their standardized test scores is akin to choosing what college you are going to apply to strictly on US News rankings.</p>