Read the passage.(1) Standardized testing in education is clearly the most effective way to assess a wide range of students to gauge their progress. (2) Many have feared that using these tests will take away from true academic growth and creative thought. (3) This, quite simply, is not the case. (4) Standardized testing is a reliable and objective way to measure student achievement, and many tests actually encourage innovative thinking. (5) One long-term analysis of standardized testing found that over 90 percent of studies done on this type of assessment showed a positive effect on student achievement. (6) This fact alone is enough to calm the fears and anxieties of standardized-testing opponents.