The work of schools is teaching and learning. However, the current educational culture is dominated by three characteristics: (1) the mechanistic view of organization and its practice based on the assembly line model where students progress along a value added conveyor; (2) the predominance of the Essentialist philosophy of education, in which the teacher-centered classroom transfers bits of "essential" knowledge to students; and (3) the high stakes testing mentality, which believes in the rigid and frequent testing of students to ensure learning and enforce accountability. Three models are presented that demonstrate the limitation of the testing mentality and highlight the other educational options available to students and schools. Acting on the three models has the potential to improve teaching and learning by providing a learning environment characterized by deep, complex, active and generative learning at the expert level.