Standardized Testing

Standardized testing has been a part of education for decades.  That said, I feel like it is somethng I need to be mindful of but not subservient to.  I recognize the philosophy of those outside the classroom who think that numbers and data--emiprical evidence if you will--are the only ways to prove success in any field--but the classroom is not a lab and my students are not rats.  Because we are all unique, it would be impossible to run a classroom like a controlled environment.  So, sure, let them throw another standardized test my way, make me gather data based on the results, to submit for their disapproval, but until they come to our classroom to play with us, they will never understand that teaching is not testing.