The High-Stakes Testing Culture: How We Got Here, How We Get Out
By Cindy Long
Parents across the country are joining educators in saying enough is enough – no more high-stakes standardized testing. In fact, they’re shouting it, in large numbers. Recent rallies at state capitol and opting-out protests have taken place in Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Alabama and other states. Grassroots parent movements say they will protest until overtesting is curbed.
NEA leaders and members—who have been clamoring to stop the testing madness for years—are grateful parents have joined the fray. Now there’s hope that by acting together, a movement could finally end the current drill and kill testing regime.
But how did we get here? How did test scores become such a driving force in public education?
Monty Neill is the executive director of FairTest, the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, which focuses on assessment reform, addressing standardized test quality, responsible uses of test and assessment results, and the development of educationally beneficial assessments.
NEA Today recently spoke with Neill about how the nation’s obsession with testing grew to such vast proportions, better assess students what how educators and parents can work together to help bring the high-stakes era to an end.
What’s the average time spent on testing in schools around the country?
No one knows for sure the average time students spend on test prep. A recent survey of the Colorado Education Association found that teachers spend 30 percent of their time on prep and testing. It’s not uncommon for districts to test their students ten times a year. Some districts have more than 30 tests a year in one grade. Pittsburgh has 35 tests in grade four, with nearly as many in some other grades. Chicago had The High-Stakes Testing Culture: How We Got Here, How We Get Out | NEA Today: