--- title: President Obama On Standardized Testing | TIME description: President Obama On Standardized Testing canonical: https://time.com/video/SjAr12A0/ og:title: President Obama On Standardized Testing og:description: President Obama On Standardized Testing og:url: https://time.com/video/SjAr12A0/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/SjAr12A0/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama On Standardized Testing twitter:description: President Obama On Standardized Testing twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/SjAr12A0/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # President Obama On Standardized Testing > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Subscription: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923, reporting on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: President Obama On Standardized Testing [Watch (HLS stream): President Obama On Standardized Testing](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SjAr12A0.m3u8) (3:04)  _Published 2015-10-24. President Obama On Standardized Testing_ --- Jul 27, 2023 7:01 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Boehner: President Obama is “Damaging the Presidency"](/video/QZdxYBsq/) ### Boehner: President Obama is “Damaging the Presidency" [President Obama on MH17](/video/J3mwN3mz/) ### President Obama on MH17 [WATCH: President Obama on Syria](/video/jBsA1NQK/) ### WATCH: President Obama on Syria --- ## Transcript Hi, everybody. I've got a pop quiz for parents and teachers across the country. If our kids had more free time at school, what would you want them to do with it? A ) Learn to play a musical instrument? B ) Study a new language? C ) Learn how to code HTML? Or D ). Take more standardized tests. If you're like most of the parents and teachers I hear from, you didn't choose D. I wouldn't either. When I look back on the great teachers who shaped my life, what I remember isn't the way they prepared me to take a standardized test. What I remember is the way they taught me to believe in myself. To be curious about the world, to take charge of my own learning so that I could reach my full potential, to inspire me, to open up a window into parts of the world that I'd never thought of before. That's what good teaching is. That's what a good education is Today as a parent I want to know how my child is doing in school and I want my teacher to know that too. And as president, I want to hold all of us accountable for making sure every child everywhere is learning what he or she needs to be successful and that's why I believe that in moderation, smart strategic tests can help us measure our kid's progress in school. It can help them. Learn. But I also hear from parents who, rightly, worry about too much testing. And from teachers who feel so much pressure to teach to a test that it takes the joy out of teaching and learning, both for them and for the students. I wanna fix that. That's why I've asked the department of education to work aggressively with states and school districts to make sure that any tests we use in our classroom meet three basic principles. First, our kids should only take tests that are worth taking. Tests that are high quality, aimed at good instruction and make sure everybody is on track. Second, tests shouldn't occupy too much classroom time or crowd out teaching and learning. Tests should enhance teaching and learning. And third, tests should be just one source of information used alongside classroom work and surveys and other factors to give us An all- around look at how our students and our schools are doing. Three basic principles. Because learning is about so much more than just filling in the right bubble. So we're gonna work with states, school districts, teachers, and parents, to make sure that we're not obsessing about testing. that the principles that I've just outlined are reflected in classrooms throughout the country. To make sure that our kids are enjoying learning. That our teachers are able to operate with creativity. To make sure we are preparing our kids For a lifetime of success. 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