Critical thinking is, arguably, the most important skill one could have. I would agree that the drill and kill method was effective for the eras it was used in, but those times are passed. As a culture, our mainstream belief is that of the individual. As Americans we not only embrace this belief, we cater to it. Standardized testing can show a certain amount of the educational base one has, when compared to  a group but leaves out much of  the strengths an individual has when it comes to problem solving and coping skills with life in general. Your ability to self manage, being able to think on your feet and adapt to any given situation are things that cannot be measured by standardized tests. And yet these abilities are the things that could make a decision between going with you or someone else in the workforce, or for a scholarship. Critical thinking, however, is a type of learning that would account for these types of abilities.The ability to be able to think critically branches out into all areas of your life where making decisions comes into play, not just work. The positive overlap of this ability cannot be overstated. I wouldn't think it would take much convincing to win this argument in favor of critical thinking, as the world we live in today values individualism above all else. That is the one thing that standardized testing, by definition, cannot measure. I watched a spelling bee once, where the girl drew the word "theater", she spelled "theatre". Initially, she was asked to be seated, but upon review, both spellings are correct. She is able to rejoin the group onstage. This example comes to mind for me as an illustration of standardized testing versus critical thinking. In that, standardized would be the theater with the "er",  while critical thinking involves a different set of logic that is open to more than one correct way of doing something. It is this allowance that demonstrates the superiority of critical thinking as opposed to standardized testing.