Standardized Education

Coming from a public school in Pennsylvania I am familiar with the massive amount of enjoyment one gets from taking standardized tests over the years.  Kids anxiously wait every couple of years for their chance to experience all the PSSAs have to offer.  They get to sit in a room, in silence, 3 hours every morning for a week taking a test that doesn't even count towards their class grades.  They are of course reminded however that if they don't do well and make the school look good then they will get to take remediation courses all the next year, but if they do well they might get a ice cream party or maybe just maybe some pizza.  Standardized testing is slowly ruining our public schools.  We no longer have teachers doing what they love to do, they are shackled by the state standards and preparing kids for these tests instead of preparing them for college or life.  I don't think I've talked to anyone in college that praises all the work they got on constructed responses or T-charts with explanations for solving a math problem.  Schools need to go back to giving kids an education instead of drilling them for tests that are meaningless after they get their diploma.