By definition, a standardized test is any test administered and scored in a predetermined standard way. Schools use two main types: aptitude and achievement. Aptitude tests aim to predict how students will perform in a subsequent educational setting, while achievement tests aim to evaluate the effectiveness of a school. Standardized testing has been a controversial issue in the United States since the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2002 mandated annual testing in all 50 states. The use of these tests has begun to affect not only the form of education, but also the level of knowledge that students gain from their educational experience. Although standardized tests are used across the country, they are an unreliable measure of education and radically change curricula, causing a creativity crisis. Standardized tests are an unreliable measure of schools and should not be used to measure student learning, achievement gaps, and/or quality of student teaching. They are unfair and discriminatory against students from low-income and minority groups; English language learners and students with disabilities. According to educational assessment expert W. James Popham, "If children come from advantaged families and stimulus-rich environments, then they are more likely to perform well on items on standardized achievement tests than other children whose environments do not doesn't fit as well with what the tests measure” (W. James Popham). Students with low scores do not receive the attention they need and are not challenged or supported. Instead, they are given a “mind-numbing” schedule, which only causes them to fall further behind. Meanwhile, children with average scoresCrites 1middle or top middle of paper......procon.org/, 11/1/2013 9:27:50 AM PST. Internet. 03/24/14.Problems with standardized tests. http://www.education.com/refrence/article/Ref_Test_Problems_Seven/, updated November 4, 2013. Internet. 03/24/14.Daniel Luzer, Pacific Standard: The science of society. What kills creativity? http://www.psmag.com/culture/killscreativitystandardizedtestingchildren69137/, November 4, 2013, 10:00 a.m. Internet. 03/24/14.Fairtest, National Center for Fair and Open Testing. How standardized testing harms education. http://fairtest.org/howstandardizedtestingdamageseducationpdf, submitted August 28, 2007 at 11:04 a.m. Internet. 03/24/14.W. James Popham, Why Standardized Tests Don't Measure Educational Quality. http://www.ascd.org/publications/educationalleadership/mar99/vol56/num06/ WhyStandardize dTestsDon%27tMeasureEducationalQuality.aspx, ASCD, 3/24/14.