This comment came from a retired and discouraged music teacher in response to a post about the damage done by data-driven instruction, in which focus is on raising those who score at 2 up to a 3, while ignoring the 1s (too low) and the 3s and 4s (they cross the barrier):

Yes, Diane, the focus is solely on raising the twos. It was the topic of staff meetings prior to my retirement as a music teacher–yes, we “specials” had to hear and contribute ways that we could do math and literacy in our 25 minute classes (at most 15 minutes of real instructional time). We had to write and use math concepts–and no, the writing and mathematical concepts could not use the language of our areas. It had to be just like that used on the state tests. Oh, I forgot, I taught kindergarten through second grade music.

Fast forward two years later, two years into my retirement, I was tutoring third and fourth grade students in reading AND math, despite my not knowing as much as most of the students when it came to math…or at least how they were to learn it. Where was our focus from January through state testing?? On the twos, of course! I have not gone back to tutoring, despite my love of working with students. I do not want to be used and use the children solely to generate data at the expense of students really learning how to think, how to solve problems, how to be creative. Teachers are a terrible thing to waste!