Ninety percent of secondary schools worldwide today use standardized tests with a pass rate of only 60%. Ankur Singh, a high school senior, was ready for his Advanced Placement (AP) classes, but found that his enthusiasm would soon turn to frustration and failing grades. Singh entered his class hoping to analyze characters and themes in literature, but instead found his entire year to be filled with 50-minute question-based essays to prepare for the next standardized tests. Rather than continuing his previous pattern of academic excellence, he began performing very poorly in his AP classes. Singh expressed his frustration by stating that all of his AP classes taught specifically around college prep and standardized testing rather than focusing on real learning. He continued by stating: “I am not challenged. My lessons are easy. All I have to do is memorize the manual and pass it on the test. I don't learn anything. I'm not growing. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2012/11/09/one-teens-standardized-testing-horror-story-and-where-it-will-lead/) Not only If parents and students disagree with standardized testing, educators end up opposing it. At Garfield High School in Seattle, teachers unanimously decided not to administer standardized reading and math tests. Teachers sent letters to parents giving them the option to opt out of having their student take the test. Teachers comment that these tests are "an inappropriate measure of the teacher's teaching effectiveness." (http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/11/when-parents-yank-their-kids-out-of-standardized-tests/281417/) Hiss, former dean of admissions at Bates College in Lewiston, ...... middle of paper ......c education in 1965, when President Johnson passed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in an effort to provide higher quality education that is equal for all. all children, and a modern education reform movement was sparked. In 2002, standardized tests rose further when they became the most critical tool used to evaluate students, teachers, schools, and entire districts after the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act ( NCLB). NCLB was a direct attempt to improve the educational ranking of United States students relative to other countries, and it led to a phenomenal increase in testing and assessment requirements for students. Ironically, between 2000 and 2009, American students fell from 18th to 31st in the world in mathematics, with a similar decline for science scores. (http://standardizedtests.procon.org/#background )