The current rationale for standards-based reform goes like this: If standards are demanding and tests accurately measure achievement of those standards, then curriculum and instruction will become richer and more rigorous. By attaching serious consequences to schools that fail to increase test scores, U.S. policymakers believe that educators will be motivated to pay attention to what is on the tests. Educators do pay attention to what is on the tests--but the consequences are not necessarily the intended ones. Research in the last few decades documents that state testing can significantly affect curriculum and instruction. High-stakes testing will likely remain the coin of the realm for the foreseeable future. In fact, if test scores are used to evaluate individual teachers, the stakes will increase even more. The challenge, then, is to ensure that state tests do not continue to distort the curriculum in ways that deprive students of meaningful learning.