Standardized Testing Creates Captive Markets
It’s easy to do business when the customer is forced to buy.
But is it fair, is it just, or does it create a situation where people are coerced into purchases they wouldn’t make if they had a say in the matter?
For example, school children as young as 8-years-old are forced to take a battery of standardized tests in public schools. Would educators prescribe such assessments if it were up to them? Would parents demand children be treated this way if they were consulted? Or is this just a corporate scam perpetrated by our government for the sole benefit of a particular industry that funnels a portion of the profits to our lawmakers as political donations?
Let’s look at it economically.
Say you sold widgets – you know, those hypothetical doodads we use whenever we want to talk about selling something without importing the emotional baggage of a particular product.
You sell widgets. The best widgets. Grade A, primo, first class widgets.
Your goal in life is to sell the most widgets possible and thus generate the highest profit.
Unfortunately, the demand for widgets is fixed. Whatever they are, people only want so many of them. But if you could increase the demand and thus expand the market, you would likewise boost your profits and better meet your goals.
There are many ways you could do this. You could advertise and try to convince consumers that they need more widgets. You could encourage doctors and world Standardized Testing Creates Captive Markets | gadflyonthewallblog:
“A customer can have a car painted any color he wants as long as it’s black” Henry Ford
