UT researcher speaks against standardized testing in Texas

Walter Stroup, a researcher at UT Austin, who has studied standardized testing in Texas for several years gives his opinion on the topic. (DMN-Video: Michael Ainsworth)

[OB.x]

TLDR: I was a junkie stoner, skipped all of senior year, NEVER took a taks practice test, and aced it my first try. The schools go at such a slow pace, that people who have potential fall behind, get bored, and start doing hard drugs. We need to start focusing on the people with potential, not this "no child left behind" garbage. Leaves those children behind IMO, someone needs to clean the gutters, unfortunately, this is the way the world works.

If you want to understand how standardized testing is complete and utter crap. I was one of those kids that skipped class...ooooh 80% of my senior year, mainly to go get high. Actually it was my Junior year technically, due to a technicality, and taking two math classes my  sophomore year (Algebra 2 and Pre-Cal). The school had an issue my Senior (technically Junior year). They wanted to hold me back, because they said "I wasn't ready". They were about to make me take another horrible year of high school, because economics is only offered to seniors.

 As if some poorly paid public employee knows me better. I never took the TAKS (I think that's what it was called then) a single time. Sometimes I drew pictures of male genetalia all over the scantron. Just to anger the staff. But they said I needed to pass it to graduate, so I came in one morning, high and hung over, and crapped out answers. 

 I dumbfounded my teachers by randomly answering the standardized tests, most of the time failing it. Then getting 90's and 100s on PRE CAL ( no one my age was taking pre-cal, I was tutoring seniors, while coming to class stoned.) People don't get it still. The kids are being taught based on the ability of the dumbest kid. Not in the school, or even class, but the dumbest kid, in the nation. 

Thus, you had a lot of kids like me, who were really smart, but never went to school except to turn in papers/tests because the teachers taught at a nightmarish stupid pace.  Hell I didn't even show up to finals my senior year when I realized that none of the college level classes I was taking would transfer.