The Controversial Impact of High Stakes Testing

The first major learning regarding high stakes assessment from the video "Teachers, parents push back against high stakes testing" is the fact that the results of this type of assessment form the basis for scholarship application, admission in programs for talented and gifted students as well as other educational establishments. Another thing that I found out about high stakes assessment is that it has become subject to strong criticism both amongst parents and among teachers for the unrelenting pressure, it brings on children. What I also found out about this type of assessment from another video is that there is growing evidence that it negatively affects the quality of education ("High Stakes Testing and Student Success", 2013).

One of

the most important "takeaways" from the above videos, which fully resonates with me, is the idea that high stakes assessment is the "unhealthy" method of determining the students' academic success as it puts children under stiff pressure and, in addition to that, does not always provide for accurate results.
The one thing that I did not fully understand is that as of today, according to the statement of Eric Nadelstern from one of the videos, there is the aftermath for how well students perform, which did not exist before. In my opinion, consequences of students' academic results and achievement have existed since the establishment of the educational system. In actual fact, these consequences affect not only students themselves, but also the community and country's economy taken as a whole. We cannot say that it is only in the 21st century that academic results began to influence other areas of life.
The major question that still needs to be answered viewing the above videos relates to the alternative of high stakes assessment. Obviously, academic results need ot be measured on a regular basis. However, is there an effective way to accurately determine students' results and achievement without placing pressure on them?