Why are people so afraid of their kids taking standardized tests? Is it because they are afraid that their kids have been so lazy in school that they don't have a chance of getting a good score? Standardized tests may not be the single best judge of any individual student's abilities, but they serve a great purpose of determining what the vast majority of students have learned and retained and a students ability to use logic and follow instructions. College admission and placement, the armed services and civil service commissions have successfully used standardized tests for decades.