I hope no one takes this the wrong way, but I'm really happy to hear so many other stories of ambivalence. It seems to me that, although it's absolutely right and sane to think of testing as one piece of the pie, there really is a strong temptation in our world to treat it as the whole thing. (Mmm, pie. Must be holiday time.) Even if the parents manage to resist that temptation, the rest of the world may have a tougher time. This can have some good effects, I suppose; like in LMom's case when it stopped all the annoying comments from the teachers. But even so, making it possible for the world - and, heaven forbid, for yourself - to see your kid as a number seems dangerous.
Now, I have absolutely no doubt that one can learn important and interesting things from testing. And I think it would be a head-in-the-sand reaction simply to avoid it, since it seems obvious it can be so helpful. But it does seem a double-edged sword, and I guess that that's what this conversation is helping me understand better.
Keep the stories coming, please. It seems to me the best attitude is to recognize both the pros and the cons, and to manage the task of holding them in your mind simultaneously. It's like Odysseus preparing himself to listen to Sirens: you want to hear their song, but you don't want to be drawn to your death by it.
