Teaching to the test: Sound pedagogy?

I have a confession to make. For the entire 28 years that I taught high school English, I taught to the test. And I'm proud to finally admit it. I know that fessing up to this perceived transgression will reflexively draw clamor from everyone with children in school. That's because teaching to the test is considered tantamount to cheating on your income tax returns. But stay with me here: This type of reaction is the result of a fundamental misunderstanding of both curriculum and instruction.

If we’re being honest, teaching to the test is done by almost all other effective teachers. In fact, I did so—along with many other an effective educator—way before teachers were evaluated on the basis of their students’ ability to perform on the standardized tests that now constitute the sine qua non of accountability. That’s because it is eminently sound pedagogy.

Read more of this opinion piece in The Christian Science Monitor online.