Covering the business of education and training

There are some 92,816 American public schools that take about 45 million standardized reading and math tests, including SAT, No Child Left Behind, and other such tests.

Next year, states will begin testing science as well and the number will swell to 56 million.

Problem: Graders are failing their end of the test.

Earlier this year Pearson scored 5,000 SAT tests incorrectly.

Harcourt graders announced a failing score for an elementary school in Dothan, AL last year causing students to transfer out, and faculty morale to all but disappear. The graders then backtracked this year to say the school actually had passed.

Educational Testing service, the world's largest, incorrectly scored a Pennsylvania teacher's licensing tests, costing him his job.

A teacher in Mountain View, CA failed his certification tests four times, got fired, embarrassed and ended up as a bartender, only to find out he had actually passed.

Granted, 40 million - 50 million tests and graders from India to Southern FL working for $7-10/hr and there are bound to be mistakes.

Unfortunately, the mistakes are destroying lives.

Isn't there a better way?

What do you think?