Are the kids learning more though? I’ve heard a lot of anecdotal evidence around here that teachers are being pushed to teach the test fulltime. That drives up passage rights and gives us kids who can fill out bubble sheets but it doesn’t necessarily mean the kids are coming out any better educated or with any better critical thinking skills.
I've heard that too, but unless the teachers have a copy of the exact test given and are merely having the kids memorize the answers, the whole teaching the test thing is bull-hockey. (As far as I know, the teachers are not just teaching kids to memorize answers. If they are, they should be fired and the school boards and administrations should be tossed out on their ears.)