When Parents Yank Their Kids Out of Standardized Tests

[frazzled]

16. I went to school in the 1950s and 60s

And we always had tests -- the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. But teachers never spent specific class time "prepping" us for them. They taught us reading and math. Which is what we would be learning anyway.

My kids, who went to el-hi in the 80s and 90s, also had regular testing throughout their years. It was during their generation, in fact, that high-stakes state graduation exams were put into place. Their teachers never taught to the test either. They just taught. With one exception, I guess: kids who were failing were given special tutoring. I know because I volunteered as a tutor and would come several times a week. But my job was to help them with their reading deficits ... not to coach them for the test. It's not even possible to do that. I helped them with their reading. (Most of my tutoring kids were immigrants who didn't speak English as a first language. Sometimes I'd work with them on how to guess the meaning of a word they didn't know by using contextual clues. That, I thought, would help them in the tests, but also just help them in general.)

Can someone tell me what "teaching to the test" actually is? As opposed to teaching?