Abby McCloskey, Columnist

I Love Data, But K-12 Standardized Tests Have Lost the Plot

April 6, 2026 at 10:30 AM UTC

Abby McCloskey is a columnist, podcast host, and consultant. She directed domestic policy on two presidential campaigns and was director of economic policy at the American Enterprise Institute.

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Student test scores aren’t looking good, and schools aren’t being held accountable for poor results. That’s not even considering whether the right things are being tested.

I learned this the hard way. My family is zoned for a high-performing public elementary school in Texas — one where students consistently score above average on standardized tests. And there are so many tests. My first and third grader took about a dozen standardized exams annually, including STAAR tests, i-Ready tests and MAP tests. Each year, my children came home with great test results.