In our system we pursue the goal of knowing The Right Stuff about history by translating it into the goal of knowing a series of dates. We implement the goal of knowing The Right Stuff about math by converting it into the goal of knowing a set of formulas or the steps of some proof. This term has gathered negative connotations, but it refers to a quite innocent practice. Tests play the central role in the incentive system underlying today's schools. Students are admitted to colleges based on how well they do on tests.
Teachers receive raises based on the tests their students take.
The measurements go all the way up the ladder. Even our sense of national pride partially hinges on how well this year's students do on the Scholastic Aptitude Test, or whether we have beaten the Koreans at math. Teaching to the test means tailoring the work of the classroom to the goal of improving scores on tests. Because the benefits of the education system are doled out on the basis of test results, teaching to the test would seem to be a sensible thing to do. The problem is not only in the practice of teaching to the test, but in the tests themselves.