Standardized testing evaluates proficiency in the most generally accepted curriculum areas. The margin of error is too large to call this method effective. “High test scores are generally tied to things other than the actual quality of education students receive” (Kohn 7). “Only recently have test scores been published in newspapers and used as the main criteria for judging children, teachers and schools.” (2) Standardized testing is a great travesty imposed on the American public school system. Politicians argue that accountability is necessary. Dylan Wiliam wrote that “The logic of responsibility is deceptively simple” (110). He goes on to state that “students who attend higher-quality schools will (by definition) perform better than those who attend lower-quality schools, so that differences in the quality of schools will result in systematic differences in outcomes between schools” (110 ). Yes, indeed accountability is needed. It is necessary for those who pay for education (taxpayers) and for educated people (students). Institutions that regulate education should be held accountable for the policies they implement, as should the government that approved those actions. “Of the total variance in mathematics achievement of 15-year-olds in the United States in 2004, only 8% was attributable to the actual quality of education provided by the school; science achievement is similar” (111). This is an indictment of the American school system, underlining that standardized tests are in fact inaccurate and unnecessary. These facts also relate to the poor quality to which standardized testing has fallen and directly to the poor quality of education received in our public school systems. These tests… halfway through the document… are advancing, which means we as a nation should also be progressive in how we educate ourselves. There is no right answer to this country's educational problems, but rest assured that the right answers are not found in standardized tests. Works Cited Kohn, Alfie. “The Case Against Standardized Testing: Raising Scores, Ruining Schools.” New Hampshire: Heinemann, 2000. Print. Ravitch, Diane. “Launching a revolution in standards and assessments.” Phi Delta Kappan 74.10 (1993): 767. Educational Administration Abstract. Network. November 22, 2011. Solley, Bobbie A. “On Standardized Testing: An ACEI Position Paper.” Childhood Education 84.1 (2007): 31-37. Premier of academic research. Network. November 27, 2011.Wiliam, Dylan. “Standardized Testing and School Accountability.” Educational Psychologist 45.2 (2010): 107-122 Academic Research Premier November 20. 2011.