Teaching to the Test???

                           After doing some reading about data driven instruction, I have thought and pondered about many things about what I have read. In the book I have been reading, its explains the value of teachers making assessments first in order to be able to teach students to the rigor of the test. When reading the book this information all seemed very convincing but I still wasn't completely sold. One thought I had was, well how often do or would teachers really make tests and then teach according to the test? I did some further reading and realized what this book was saying... TEACH TO THE TEST. What how can this be, is this really what data is about? I have learned over and over again in all my education courses that this is the worst thing ever, but really what is the difference about data? 

                     Teachers are supposed to analyze data, look for where students are struggling on the the test (where the data came from) and differentiate their lessons so there is improvement on the next test. However, maybe teaching to the test isn't as bad as we think. Maybe teaching to the test in a way that has the students use critical thinking skills and other valuable thinking tools could be beneficial to the students. In the article I was reading, What's so bad about teaching to the test? by Great Schools Staff, it talks about some different ways of thinking about "teaching to the test." If you have the time, it's entertaining read.