Our story begins in the 20th century.
One day, the emperor asked for new standards. "Who can bring me
standards which will tell me how much students learn, how much they know and
how well the teachers are doing their job?" he asked. Experts from across
the kingdom brought him all kinds of tests and recommended assigning papers and
projects. The emperor was confused. "How will we know if every teacher is
using the same criteria? Can we trust the judgment of teachers and principals?
How will we compare different schools?"
One day a wise man arrived with a PhD in education and a stack of
research. He offered the emperor a standardized test. "With this test you
can check every student according to the same criteria, compare them and find
out where the good and bad teachers are" he said. The emperor looked at
the test and said "But I don't see any measure of knowledge or
understanding." The wise man explained that these tests were written by
experts in education following many years of research. The emperor, who didn't
want to appear ignorant, issued a new order. From now on all students and
schools will be measured according to these tests. Principals instructed
teachers that they must meet the standards set by the emperor. All educators
studied the tests thoroughly in order to find out exactly what students needed
to know. Everyone began to prepare for the big day. They memorized the
necessary information, learned to read and follow instructions and practiced
every type of question so that they would know how to answer each and every one
properly.
The day arrived. The emperor sent inspectors to deliver the tests to
every school in the kingdom. All of the students sat quietly, the teachers
stood at attention, everyone knew exactly what they were expected to do.
Suddenly one child got up and shouted "This test is useless!" The
principal gave the teacher a stern look, and the teacher quickly quieted the
child. But the child stood up again. "This test is useless!" he
shouted again, "I understand all the material but some of these questions
make no sense!" A child from another school shouted, "What's the
problem? We don't need to study, we just need to figure out the system." The teachers and principals looked again at
the tests. They realized that the children were right. One teacher called out
"We stopped all relevant and meaningful learning to prepare for these tests!" That teacher was immediately sent to an alternative
school, and no one else dared to oppose the emperor.
The kingdom continues to hold standardized tests every year.
