Teaching to the 4th power

It is every teachers dream, no any dedicated teacher's dream to have each of their students reach the 4th tier of learning. However, I feel that there are numerous roadblocks that prevent teachers from helping their students become transformative learners. For instance, in a month, most of the students at my high school will be hurdled together like swines and forced to take the DCCAS, an exam that gives little indication of a student's aptitude level in math and English. The test my inner-city public school students take, many of whom are recent immigrants, is geographically, culturally, and linguistically biased because many of the questions is not relevant to my students' lives.
The time it takes to prepare my students to perform well on this exam detracts from valuable class time I can use to help them build (T1), use (T2), interpret (T3), and produce (T4) a depiction of their newly acquired knowledge. Our school system today, including my school has an unwarranted obsession with teaching students how to pass a test instead of giving students the necessary tools to help them become a part of their learning. I teach because I want my students, most of whom are socio-economically disadvantaged, to think critically about the world they live in and at some point become agents of social change in their community. Teachers cannot help their students learn effectively if they are constantly bombarded by standards-based bulletin boards, standards-based lesson plans, standards-based curriculum, all of which are important, but not as important as helping our students reach the fourth tier of learning.