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I will be honest: the reasoning used to counter the idea of “teaching to the test” sounds specious, much like the reasoning used against voter ID laws. How in the world is a teacher *not* teaching the rules and theories underlying a subject if they are preparing their students to pass a standardized English or math exam? Both English and math have rules; both require some amount of deductive reasoning. A student who masters those skills should be able to pass any standardized test easily.

What it sounds like to me when teachers complain about “teaching to the test” is that they are *not* teaching the basic skills required, so their students *cannot* pass a standardized skills test. What are they doing, getting a copy of the test beforehand and having their students memorize the correct answers? Is that what they really mean when they complain about having to “teach to the test”?

Here is an example 12th grade common core English question:

3. Which of the following choices best completes the sentence?

When at last Amber was able to _____________ the numerous difficulties associated with the task, she concluded the wisdom of her grandfather was not only desirable, but absolutely necessary.

a. perceive
b. perception
c. perceptive
d. perceived

In this example, the student probably knows the word “perceive,” but a student who has never seen the word before but has a grasp on basic word forms should be able to answer the question correctly.

It is more difficult to paste an example math question here, because math requires pictures and special symbols, but the principle is the same. The student who understands the basic skills will be able to pass the test.