A problem well put is half solved...-John Dewey

“If we want students to provide meaningful writing, we must design meaningful assignments, tasks that encourage students to use writing to act.” That statement by Lindemann couldn’t be truer but it’s more so wishful thinking when it comes to teachers, especially those within the elementary-middle school categories. Most teachers have learned that in order to be successful in their field of work they must teach to the test. Standardized testing is a big issue with many pros and cons; it not only measures the students’ progress but also the teachers’ ability to teach. My teaching prospectus focuses on the teachers view on the standardized test, and how within their classroom they address this requirement or don’t and the pressure they face of their students performing proficiently on these tests to prove that they are good teachers. Often times students are presented with vague props such as Group 1, or 3 (pg. 214) leaving the students with little to go on. So while it would be nice to be able to teach and create writing assignments that stimulate students minds and provide them with a valuable skill, exercises like those are limited due to the fact testing takes precedence over everything. Now the state is implementing common core standardized as if to resolve the testing issue, but there are certain benchmarks students must reach in order to be considered basic or above. So instead of teachers teaching to the test they are teaching to bench marks which still evaluates their ability to teach. This is our educational system for you, either love it or homeschool your child or you could come out of pocket and pay for private.