I recently read the article "Do You Spend Too Much Time Preparing for Standardized Tests?" and really agree with some of the issues that were posed.  It is true that we spend much of our Spring testing students over what they have learned throughout the previous year.  I agree with gathering data and being able to guide our instruction toward making gains in deficit areas.  I do not agree with MORE testing--like in Texas, 15 tests? This seems a little excessive and unnecessary.  I think that the data will provide the information needed with a couple of tests, not 15.  I'm sure that this debate is not going away and that our opinions on the topic need to be heard by many people making these decisions.