Why are we so
Why are we so obsessed with exams? This is actually a UK story but it could just as easily been writen about the US.
Until the late 1980s the United Kingdom had one of the most decentralised and voluntaristic educational systems in the world; indeed in many respects it would hardly qualify as a national system at all, and this is certainly one of the reasons why the pendulum has swung so far in the opposite direction.
Currently, national curriculum test scores are rising, and primary schools are well on the way to meeting the Government’s targets. However, rather than real rises in standards, what is most likely to have led to increases in scores is practising for the tests.
All international research, not to mention personal experience and common sense, suggests that this is what happens when “high stakes” tests are encountered: ie when teachers and students are faced with tests that carry significant consequences for student life chances and teacher accountability, very significant time and energy will be devoted to test preparation. The minimal focus of the testing programme becomes the normal curriculum maximum; teachers and students alike become adept at cramming and, if the consequences of failure are too severe, cheating.