Since the U.S. Congress passed No Child Left Behind, standardized testing has become the norm in American schools. Under this system, every child attending a school must take a standardized test at specific levels to assess their level of understanding. Parents, academics and all stakeholders involved engage in constant discussions about its effectiveness in assessing student understanding, teacher skills and the effects of the test on the education system. Although these tests were put in place to create equality, experts note that they have created more inequality in the classroom. In an effort to explore this question further, this essay reviews two articles on standardized testing. This essay reviews the authors' feelings and views on the standardized exam. The articles provide enough evidence to demonstrate that standardized tests are not effective in measuring a teacher's skills because they do not take into account the school environment and its effects on students. In "Standardized Tests Undermine Teaching," author Diane Ravitch reviewed a book she authored, The Death and Life of America's Great School System: How Tests and Choices Undermine Teaching. 'education. This review highlights various harms of standardized testing on students and educators. She says standardized testing and the use of incentives to motivate students and educators have failed to achieve the goals set. Although the author has been at the forefront of advocating for this system, she now opposes it and is skeptical of the use of incentives to motivate teachers. She also reviews the role of charter schools in perpetuating classism. She says standard testing and using...... middle of paper ......with students on a daily basis, they understand the main areas of concern. Therefore, it is essential that teachers are involved in the decision-making process. Works Cited Birman, Beatrice F., et al. “State and Local Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act. “Volume VIII – Teacher Quality under “NCLB”: Final Report.” US Department of Education (2009): ERIC. Internet. March 31, 2014.Meador, Derrick. “Standardized tests.” About.com Teaching. Np, and Web. March 23, 2014. .Popham, W. James. “Why Standardized Tests Don’t Measure Educational Quality.” Educational Leadership 56 (1999): 8-16.Ravitch, Diane.. “Ravitch: Standardized Tests Undermine Teaching.” NPR. NPR, April 11, 2011. Web. March 24. 2014. .