Standardized tests like the ACT only put pressure on students; they are told that to be accepted into a college they must score at least twenty-five or so. This only stresses out students because they want to get into a good college. They study like crazy (even though there is no real way to study for the ACT), only to end up with a bad score that does nothing but destroy their self-esteem. Yes, standardized tests should determine students' academic level, but tests do not demonstrate how far students will go in life. Ideally, standardized tests define our future; this means nothing if we are trained to take the test and succeed. I also don't believe the tests fully measure students' intelligence. Standardized tests in my opinion only measure how well students take a standardized test (specifically the ACT). The No Child Left Behind law, passed in 2001, begins testing children early (in elementary and secondary education) to make sure they are learning basic skills. I remember taking the ISATs in elementary school and feeling anxious because the school perceived it as such an important test. In addition to making up scores, when I didn't do very well, I remember feeling like I wasn't smart enough because that's how people talked about it in school.