TAKS: To Annihilate Kids Swiftly

Mkay, it actually stands for Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, but it actually accomplishes my version.

My school, indeed the entire state of Texas, is currently inflicting this behemoth on its hapless children. The Texas state legislature doesn't realize that kids aren't meant to take a test for seven solid hours. Jeez, neither are adults for that matter.

Of course, they would know that if any of them had bothered stepping into a school in the last ten years. What I'd really like is for one of these legislatures to teach 4th grade for a year, administer the test, get their results, and THEN go back to Austin to support the current version of TAKS.

I imagine it's loads of fun passing random laws and edicts, but a bit more troublesome to analyze the results you get. I know these kinds of standardized tests are here to stay, but the management and administration of these things are approaching the level of national security secrets.

And we've got two more days of this in April.