So true! We decided to shift our focus from testing to arts at our school and my, oh my, has the turnaround impressed everyone. The arts motivate the students to come to school and teach them to think outside the box, or in the case of testing, outside the bubble. I am a teacher, also. We got a pretty solid movement together a few years back and managed to convince our local school board to opt out of testing. It was a first. It didn't last, feds came down hard, but we got our point across. In the last few years, we've managed to decrease the testing laws by half. I, personally, opt my daughter out of all state testing. Many do not realize that is an option. Glad you enjoyed the article. I have a few more in the series. I am posting this series once a week. Happy New Year to you and your dad! Send him my thanks for his service! Blessings!