Critics express concerns about standardized testing and insist there should be a way to measure student excellence in the same context dictated by strict and uniform educational standards (Baker, 2006; Kohn , 2000). Experts, like Dr. Montessori, disagree and counter that there are other methods that can be implemented to evaluate each child. They warn against arousing fear and anxiety in students and the consequences for their brain development (Kohn, 1999; Kunimura, 2010; Montessori, 1949; Myers, 2011). Instead, they emphasize the importance of creating an environment that allows for trial and error to maximize learning and mimic real-world situations. Supporters of the current education system continue and even wish to deepen their Common Core initiative, which strives to align the state's various school programs into a unified whole, while basing it on current school reform (Kohn, 1999 Ravitch, 2010). Researchers, for their part, are deeply concerned about this phenomenon and refute that it makes children lose interest in school and their learning. They argue that children are diverse human beings too, just like adults who are naturally different, and that school curricula must be flexible to accommodate the challenges that each learner brings. Furthermore, they object and remind us that children are not machines where a single manual would be enough for everyone. They remind us that children are born explorers and natural learners, and that their upbringing deploys emotional instability, rejection and skepticism and results in exactly the opposite. Opponents then dispute that standardized tests are an objective way to assess understanding and continue to cling to the image that Common Core standards eliminate wasted time by focusing on the essential subject matter...... middle of paper ......ychology. (Vol. 8, pp. 242-243). Bedford, St. Martin's: Worth Publisher. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (2013). Pisa 2012 Results. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-results.htmRunco, MA (2009). Divergent thinking. In B. Kerr (Ed.), Encyclopedia of giftedness, creativity, and talent (Vol. 1, pp. 252-253). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publication. Ravitch, D. (2010). The death and demise of the great American school system: how testing and choice undermine education. New York, NY: Basic Books. Rossier Staff. (February 8, 2011). U.S. educational spending and performance relative to the world. Retrieved from http://rossieronline.usc.edu/us-education-versus-the-world-infographic/ Sir Robinson, K. (interpreter). (2010, October). Changing paradigms [Web Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl2eHNFeDeM