Standardized testing

I had to read a chapter for class about curriculum, and one aspect I took from the article was the part about standardized testing. I searched on the Internet for an article regarding the negative effects on standardized testing and found this article called, "What Are Some Criticisms of Standardized Tests?(http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-some-criticisms-of-standardized-tests)" This article goes over how standardized testing does not show the full potential of a student. For example, from a multiple choice test, a teacher can not see where a student went wrong in say a math problem. So, a student could of just made a silly mistake and got the answer wrong but essentially knows how to do that kind of math problem. If we could see why the students are making the mistakes, teachers can find ways to help the students with the areas they are struggling with. How can a multiple-choice test show you reading comprehension if it is between four different answers, and if you are not sure you could just guess and hope to get it right? Maybe you got lucky and got it right, or maybe you got it wrong because you didn't have enough time during the timed tests to go back and see which answer would fit best. Speaking of the pressure of finishing a test in time, there is also a ton of stress a student goes through before doing these tests. Students know how important these tests are and they essentially don't want to disappoint anyone if they were to do bad on a test. A school should not be a place where they have to worry about test scores, but a place where they can expand their knowledge without worrying about if the information they just heard will be on the big test.