As a kid I would go out of my way to fail those tests. The whole curriculum was designed around them, meaning that even if we did score high, any funding gains would just be put towards training us to take the test.

I thought the state was holding the school hostage, threatening to cut funds or shut them down if they ever stopped. We never learned anything about civics or American history. Until I was out of highschool, content regarding atrocities like slavery and the trail of tears was not on the test and that was enough to whitewash the whole curriculum.

Standardized testing is to the U.S. what lead waterpipes were to the roman empire.