Standardized Testing

I found Linda M. McNeil's study on standardization to be particularly interesting. I have always been opposed to standardized testing and McNeil's findings have only cemented my feelings on the subject. She makes a good point when she says that testing widens the gap between the poor and minority students and those who are more privileged. The former is already at a disadvantage so standardized testing just exasperates this problem. The worse they do on the test, the lower quality of education they will receive from that point on. This is not fair. However, the problem is in finding alternatives to standardized testing. How do we determine if the state-mandated standards are being taught in the classroom without testing? There has to be some other way to hold teachers and schools accountable for the material that the state has determined should be taught to all students? I don't really have a solution here but there has to be a better alternative. Students who do not do well on the standardized tests should not fall by the wayside. They should not be treated as a lost cause. We need to concentrate even more on them. I'm open to suggestions...