The author reflects on his experiences with standardized tests, emphasizing the dreadful consequences of our continued allegiance to them. In doing so, the author expounds on how public schools have kowtowed to a harmful societal preference for results regardless of processes, decision-makers' desires to quantify learning, and the desires of textbook companies and test publishers to exploit schools for their own profit. As administrators and the public gauge teacher-effectiveness, they have neglected the needs of students and the realities teachers face. Teachers have to continually labor to find reasons to remain hopeful regarding their actions.