Some Thoughts on Standardized Testing

I was browsing on David Warlick's blog, 2Cents Worth, this afternoon and my interest was piqued by one of his entries, Interesting and Predictable Article on Standardized Testing in Alberta Canada. His entry was all about, you guessed it, standardized testing and the benefits (or lack thereof) of such testing. He talks about how not all countries have jumped onto the standardized testing bandwagon. In countries where students do not take standardized tests, schools offer a wider variety of educational programs, rather than education in the three core subjects of ELA, math, and the sciences. It seems like there are many more opportunities for enrichment and exploration in schools where standardized testing doesn't drive (some) teachers to drill and "teach to the test." While I wholeheartedly believe that there needs to be some sort of assessment, I am not convinced that standardized testing is the answer, mostly because I think standardized tests are not an authentic form of assessment. We all know that meaningful instruction is not (nor should it ever be) "One Sized Fits All," so why are our assessments designed as such?