<P> The definition of a standardized test has somewhat changed over time . In 1960, standardized tests were defined as those tests in which the conditions and content were equal for everyone taking the test, regardless of when, where, or by whom the test was given or graded . The purpose of this standardization is to make sure that the scores reliably indicate the abilities or skills being measured, and not other things, such as different instructions about what to do if the test taker does not know the answer to a question . </P> <P> By the beginning of the 21st century, the focus shifted away from a strict sameness of conditions towards equal fairness of conditions . For example, a test taker with a broken wrist might write more slowly because of the injury, and it would be more fair, and produce a more reliable understanding of the test taker's actual knowledge, if that person were given a few more minutes to write down the answers to a most test . However, if the purpose of the test is to see how quickly the student could write, then this would become a modification of the content, and no longer a standardized test . </P> <P> The earliest evidence of standardized testing was in China, during the Han Dynasty, where the imperial examinations covered the Six Arts which included music, archery, horsemanship, arithmetic, writing, and knowledge of the rituals and ceremonies of both public and private parts . These exams were used to select employees for the state bureaucracy . </P> <P> Later, sections on military strategies, civil law, revenue and taxation, agriculture and geography were added to the testing . In this form, the examinations were institutionalized for more than a millennium . Today, standardized testing remains widely used, most famously in the Gaokao system . </P>

What type of thinking do standardized tests in schools measure