"Children must be taught how to think, not what to think."
-Margaret Mead

This quote reminded me of some of the discussion we have had about standardized testing.  Many of us have concerns about the pressure behind standardized testing leading to teachers- supported or even forced by their administrators- "teaching the test".   Standardized tests should not just test students on what they know.  They should be designed to show that a child know how to think through a problem.  Ideally, students should not need to review or study for a standardized test.  If they have learned processes and problem-solving skills necessary through their curriculum, they should be able to think their way through an exam.
Teaching science has really brought to the surface this need to know how to think not what to think.  As technology has evolved and the world has become more well-understood, it is impossible, even for the most brilliant scientist to know everything about every topic.  Knowledge is so specific.  It becomes then, less important to memorize details than to be able to think through information one comes across.  We want students to be able to use the scientific method, to make connections among disciplines, and to distinguish between good and bad information.
In the realm of language learning, we don't want tests that show a student's ability to memorize a great deal of vocabulary and grammatical rules.  We want the test to show a student's ability to communicate- to both receive and produce information in a comprehensible way.  Communication is about knowing how to think, being creative and working through problems.  It is not necessarily about what you know or think, but the process of thinking.
Standardized testing is certainly moving in that direction, but it is still a work in progress.