However, giving educators greater flexibility enabled schools to more effectively respond to the increased demographic diversity of America and the needs of students. In schools with multicultural populations, including lessons in cultural tolerance, incorporating cultural diversity into the history and literature classes, and even on a very basic level, simplifying some of the language for ESL students in science and math classes when mainstreaming those students made education more responsive and also more student-friendly. Even if students do not meet standards by the end of a particular year, the education of students facing special challenges is often best met by an approach that focuses on educating the student in a long-range fashion, rather than upon annual testing.

Receiving a poor rating can be demoralizing for a school. For a school where simply getting to school on time is an achievement for some students, or schools that have seen remarkable progress but still fall short of national standards, because of past socioeconomic discrimination, the effects of standardized testing can be emotionally as well as financially damaging. School curriculums should take into consideration demographics, and past historical and cultural issues...

But the politics of school must be personal, not based upon national agendas, or creating an image that America is 'staying competitive' in a vague, nationalistic fashion rather than addressing individual student needs. Every education must be individualized, and individualization is one of the core principles of the American system. Simply allowing for different tests for students with classified learning disabilities does not encompass all of the diversity of American school children's experiences. It also bars creative thinking from the classroom beyond that of a scantron and limits teachers own input into creating multisensory and interdisciplinary education (Mathison & Mason 1989).
Works Cited

Mathison, Carla & Cheryl Mason. (1989). "Planning interdisciplinary curriculum: A systematic and cooperative approach. Presentation to: ASCD Annual Conference, Orlando, FL. Retrieved 15 Mar 2008 at http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/msh/llc/is/icp.html

Rogers, Bethany, Joe McDonald, & Theodore Sizer. (1993, Oct). "Standards and school reform: Asking the essential questions." Coalition of Essential Schools. Retrieved 15 Mar 2008 at http://www.essentialschools.org/cs/resources/view/ces_res/106