21.   And why do so many American students perform so poorly on standardized tests?

22.   And, as with all standardized tests, your performance might depend more on your state of mind the day you take it than on your intellectual prowess.

23.   Are children who score poorly on standardized tests of ability fated to lives of poverty, crime and social squalor?

24.   As a result, many lag in classwork, standardized test scores, and graduating from high school.

25.   At Fieldston, sixth-graders have been taking standardized tests since kindergarten, and they were frazzled by a recent math exam.

26.   At Bates, a private school, a standardized test is optional.

27.   At MIT, a school grounded in the principles of mathematics, standardized test results are minimized for minority candidates.

28.   At the same time, longtime critics of standardized tests are finding wider sympathy for their argument that the tests are misguided.

29.   At first, Jeanne Heifetz thought she had merely tripped over one of those quirks that occasionally worm their way into standardized tests.

30.   At the same time, teachers in many states feel pressure for students to perform well on standardized tests.