This prompts claims that teachers "teach to the test" as a consequence, thereby narrowing the curriculum.

BBC: Delays hit pupils' test results

When you teach to the test you end up teaching kids how to take tests and not much else.

FORBES: Half of Detroit’s Adults are Functionally Illiterate – So Now What?

Teachers too often are being forced to teach to the test.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama on No Child Left Behind Flexibility

They were being forced to "teach to the test", with children often studying just a few scenes instead of getting to enjoy and appreciate a whole play.

BBC: NEWS | UK | Education | Teachers split over Shakespeare

This is scored as a success, even though it may largely reflect the fact that hospital staff have learnt how to hit the targets, just as teachers learn how to teach to the test.

ECONOMIST: Reform rather than cash is the right medicine for the NHS

And we should grant our educators the flexibility to teach with creativity and passion in the classroom and not just teaching to the test.

WHITEHOUSE: The White House