| Sumario: | This article argues against the sloppy logic in arguments for reconsidering standards and assessments in educational testing. Sloppy reasoning has three characteristics: It employs grandiose but vacuous rhetoric, makes careless inferences regarding cause and effect, and mistakes faith for fact. While the presence of the characteristics in this debate is worrisome, more troubling is the possibility that it could influence a reform movement. The use of rhetoric by abolitionists is most noticeable in attempts to capture the moral high ground through emotional appeal. In fairness to a movement to abolish assessment in early grades, the justification of the whining must be asked. Unfortunately, the argumentation offered in this position is mired in careless inferences about cause and effect. Moreover, the most plausible cause-and-effect interference regarding testing and educational quality has been overlooked by abolitionists: that the temperature of the patient is being taken more frequently because other data suggest that there is a problem. The public reacted negatively to the handwriting on the wall because it contains misspellings and poor grammar, which illustrates the third characteristics of sloppy reasoning.
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