Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
John Oliver Skewers America's Standardized Testing With A No. 2 Pencil
By
John Del Signore
Published May 4, 2015
Modified May 4, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published May 4, 2015
Modified May 4, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
John Oliver gave America another bracing burst of enlightening laughs/tears last night in a segment excoriating the nation's explosion of standardized testing. It's madness: the average student takes 113 standardized tests by the time he or she graduates high school, and teacher evaluations have been linked to the test scores in a way that defies logic. One teacher featured in the segment actually received a negative evaluation after his student got a perfect score on a test.
According to Oliver, the endless standardized testing and mounting pressure to score higher has spiraled so far out of control that many students are vomiting during tests due to the stress, and some guidebooks even instruct teachers on how to handle kids who blow chunks mid-test.
"Something is wrong with our system when we just assume a certain number of students will vomit," Oliver says. "Standardized tests are supposed to be an assessment of skills, not a rap battle on '8 Mile' Road."
In the end, of course, it's all about the money. Oliver sets his sights on the companies that profit from creating these tests, the foremost being Pearson, which gave students a psychedelic test including questions about a hairy pineapple without sleeves, or something. "Pearson are the educational equivalent of Time Warner Cable," Oliver explains. "Either you've never had an interaction with them and don't care, or they have ruined your fucking life."
Tagged
common core
john oliver
last week tonight
standardized testing
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Man killed in police-involved shooting in Moonachie, NJ
A New Jersey state trooper was involved in the incident Wednesday, according to the New Jersey attorney general's office.
By
Kaya Laterman
Published Oct 28, 2026 at 9:06 p.m. ET
Queens man took girlfriend’s body to beach in a wagon, where it remained for 5 days
Seraphina Pereira was found in a shallow grave at Rockaway Community Park. Rogelio Lozano-Garita pleaded not guilty to murder on Wednesday.
By
Charles Lane
News
Queens man took girlfriend’s body to beach in a wagon, where it remained for 5 days
Seraphina Pereira was found in a shallow grave at Rockaway Community Park. Rogelio Lozano-Garita pleaded not guilty to murder on Wednesday.
By
Charles Lane
Mamdani extends NYC racial equity leader's term after Council pushes back on replacement
By
Elizabeth Kim
Woman charged with federal hate crimes after allegedly stabbing 2 Jewish men in NYC
By
Giulia Heyward
Ex-NYPD sergeant sentenced to 4-12 years in deadly drunken Taconic crash
By
Charles Lane
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .