In this article, the author presents two snapshots that document how No Child Left Behind (NCLB) influenced her writing instruction. She uses Dewey's concept of inquiry to frame the disastrous effects that high-stakes testing can have on the students with the greatest needs. Finally, she looks ahead to consider how the Common Core text exemplars fit into the trend of using benchmarks to drive writing instruction, and why this trend of moving from inquiry to mimicry should concern everyone who cares about the needs of developing writers. She argues that NCLB has pressured writing teachers to underserve developing writers by replacing inquiry with an emphasis on product.