This article begins with a historical exploration of the U.S.'s implementations and usages of K-12 standardized testing, including efforts at and failures to promote educational equity. Then, centering teachers' voices, the authors use a dialogic narrative format to put two long-time friends and educators in conversation with one another and their teaching experiences, including the effects of standardized tests on students, classroom climates, teacher failure, and teacher morale. Specifically, they use their narratives to examine the degrees to which testing cultures have disrupted teaching literature. The reliance on text excerpts on tests fragments students' reading experiences, and discourage schools and English language arts teachers from engaging with complete literary works, such as novels and longer plays. The authors close with a call for more teachers' voices on the topic of testing, and a reflection on how teacher demoralization follows in part from continued national and state-level reliance on standardized tests.