Simply, the biggest problem with tests like the GRE is that one cannot challenge the validity of the test itself. Instead, the test-taker must work within the established rules of the test, whether or not he or she accepts them, or face permanent consequences to the future of his or her education. This is the antithesis of empowering education. In essence, the GRE represents the colonization of a student’s ideas or possibilities. High-stakes standardized testing is about artificially reproducing an unequal class system in education that bars access for students that don’t fit into the dominant culture.
