there seems to be a bit of a mini-revolt against standardized testing. watching some c-span today, i saw the us civil rights commission board (or committee on civil rights, or something like that) have a couple of sessions on this sort of thing, where "high-stakes testing" was a topic of discussion. ("high stakes testing" refers to testing for grade advancement or graduation. i guess the theory is that since the student has a (high) stake in the test results, they put more effort into the test.) i'm a product of the minnesota public school system, which did not do any high-stakes testing, and i've apparently turned out okay. the idea of teaching to a standardized test turns my stomach. but i'm one of those freaks that could score well on most standardized tests without really trying. (my trick? i read a lot when i was younger.)