Uses of Standarized Testing

I do beleive that standarized testing has benefits and as of know is needed in our education system.  Many competitive colleges look at these scores to admit students.  Without this they would not have anything to make a judgement on regarding admittance.  The problem that exists with these tests is the interpretation of these scores.  People analyzing the tests should look at the location and background of students as well as the types of questions on the test.  Colleges do try to control for this overinterpretation by looking at a student's location, socio-economic status and other factors when comparing one student's score to another.  They also control for this by having the student's write essays.  This essay gives the student a chance to explain their background and talk about factors that influence their grade (fluctuations due to divorce, death, etc.) Overall these tests are needed and helpful as our education system exists today.