The problem is that standardized testing is based on an outdated model of education. Our current public school system was originally designed to take farmers and turn them into factory workers. But the world has changed dramatically, and it shouldn’t be a surprise that most students can’t relate to these outdated methods. Why memorize facts, when any information can be found instantly online? Why not cheat, since it’s so easy and the consequences of failure are so high?

Instead of teaching students unrelated facts and figures, and measuring success by standardized test scores, we need to re-examine the meaning and purpose of education. It’s time to focus on providing people with a context for the vast amount of available information, and helping them understand how the world works. We are no longer isolated individuals who are independent of everyone else; we are living in an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world. We need to raise human beings, not drones and workers for industrial jobs that no longer exist. Education must become a continuous process of human development that allows each of us to reach our true potential. It must provide us with an understanding of ourselves, our environment and the world. And it must help us learn to live and work together, so we can improve life for everyone.