"Learning is about so much more than just filling in the right bubble. So we’re going to work with states, school districts, teachers, and parents to make sure that we’re not obsessing about testing, that the principles I just outlined are reflected in classrooms throughout the country—to make sure that our kids are enjoying learning, that our teachers are able to operate with creativity, to make sure we are preparing our kids for a lifetime of success." —President Obama
前美國總統布希(George Walker Bush)2002年簽署《有教無類法案》(No Child Left Behind Act of 2001),目的是縮小學生的學業表現差距,最終卻導致重要考試的數量暴增近3倍,從6個增加到17個。
早在歐巴馬2007年競選總統期間,就曾以「減少考試」為號召。但歐巴馬在2009年上任後推出「力爭上游」(Race to the Top)計畫,耗資43.5億美元的預算,將各學校教師評鑑與薪水和學生的成績掛勾,學生成績越好,學區和學校有望獲得更多聯邦經費補助。
錯誤的教育政策導致考試變調,老師與學生必須無所不用其極地追求高分。
喬治亞州調查局(Georgia Bureau of Investigation)在2011年發布調查指出,亞特蘭大市(Atlanta)有44所學校的178位校長與老師坦承,曾在2009年的標準參照能力測試(Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests, CRCT)中幫助學生作弊,是美國史上最大的作弊醜聞之一。