Yes, standardized tests definitely have their flaws through lack of content-based understanding and lack of creative expression. However, the main goal of education is to be able to synthesize the information learned into a way that is useful for later in life. These core skills, such as writing proficiency, reading skills, and math reasoning, cannot be omitted from an educational experience. Since these skills are often not the main focus of a course, it is good to have them stressed and tested in a standardized exam. Furthermore, the inclusion of content based standardized exams is a very interesting and effective way of testing a student on his or her total recollection of the material from class. These tests include the AP exams and the subject SATs. For example, the AP exam for a history course not only tests the students on important concepts from the course in the multiple choice, but assesses the student's ability to read and write historically through the inclusion of a DBQ prompt and 2 FRQ prompts. Modifications upon a standard view of standardized testing like this can definitely make the use of standardized tests much more useful and can refute some of the hits against the practice.
