Standardized Tests Fail To Hit Their Mark

We know that the results of standardized testing do not predict very well the test taker’s abilities in real life situations. At best (and not always), the tests only expose a potential ability. Despite this contradiction, for over a century we have still be using standardized tests to predict was a person can supposedly do.


The problem is due to a very simple fact: Where the brain stores knowledge is separate from the parts of the brain called upon to analyze and use that knowledge. When a standardized test is given, the person’s actual ability is not the thing being tested because the wrong part of the brain is being called upon during the test. In order to find out what a person can actually do, the test needs to include the actual activity and then evaluate the result, calling upon the parts of the brain that are involved in real life situations.