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Re your post #61 - I think your solution is a terrific one. Many teachers try to do that now, but they are not always successful.

And, I am likewise very sympathetic to those same students -- the ones on the OTHER end of the spectrum, who of course will do fine on the test, and could go on to so much more.

But, I disagree that a creative teacher has to stop being creative due to an upcoming test. I do think the testing has caused changes. However, I still see lots of room for creativity in teaching. This is a big concern of mine, BTW. So, I am not brushing aside your commentary here. As time goes on and people become more comfortable and familiar with these tests, I think attitudes will continue to improve in this area.

One improvement I believe may already be happening now is that learning objectives at each grade level are becoming much clearer -- so that students at one grade level are not repeating over and over some of the same lessons already learned at a previous grade level.

Thanks for your thoughtful post here. :)