I've been teaching for 27 years. There was a time when teachers understood not only what was expected of them, but they understood their content and how best to instill knowledge into the minds of their students. Politicization of education has muddied our visions of our jobs. I don't think it is the fault of testing. I experienced the phase where "all students are winners - there are not losers". How stupid was that! Of course there are winners and losers and the sooner we can not only turn our students on to how competitive our world is, but give them the tools to be as competitive as possible. Testing isn't the problem. Testing is just a tool and should not be feared nor over emphasized.