Policy Points - ASCD

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Policy Points

EDUCATOR

ADVOCATES

MARCH 2015

TESTING TIME The amount of time students spend preparing for and taking standardized tests has garnered both surging interest and growing pushback from parents, educators, and policymakers. We’ve compiled the latest data from the most recent assessment surveys and studies for a better understanding of how many tests students take, who requires the tests, and what purposes the tests serve.

The Scope of Testing

The survey of large districts shows at least

17 federally mandated tests No Child Left Behind requires 17 tests for accountability purposes over the course of a student’s K–12 career. This does not include tests for special populations of students or practice assessments that many states and districts require in addition to the federally mandated tests.

298+H

1.6%

113

Reasons for Testing

Students take mandated state and district standardized tests an average of once per month, accounting for approximately 1.6 percent of instructional time per year, according to a Center for American Progress (CAP) study of 14 urban and suburban school districts.1 Students take an average of 113 standardized tests between prekindergarten and 12th grade, according to a survey of large school districts conducted by the Council of Chief State School Officers and Council of Great City Schools.2

Eleventh grade students undergo the most testing, with one surveyed district reporting that its students spend up to

27 days of the year taking tests.

2

23 distinct purposes for tests.2

✓✓ state and federal accountability ✓✓ grade promotions ✓✓ English proficiency ✓✓ program evaluation ✓✓ teacher evaluation ✓✓ diagnostics ✓✓ end-of-year predictions ✓✓ fulfilling the requirements of specific grants

On average, districts require more tests than states, according to the CAP study.

Districts often mandate benchmark exams to improve teachers’ instructional practice and monitor student academic achievement prior to state assessments.1 K–2 students take three times more district exams than state exams, and high school students take twice as many district exams as state exams.1

49+35+106H 49%

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K–2 High School District

Too much testing? 49 percent of U.S. parents think their children take too many standardized tests.1

State

Too Much Right Number Too Few Don’t Know

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26+54811+

11+132824+ 2221+ 232028+ 1812 45+ 2223+ 2639+483739+ 5523+ Testing Time Profiles

30 20 10

average 19.8 hours

Testing Time (Hours)

Testing Time (Hours)

Two studies—one conducted by the Ohio Department of Education, and another conducted by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)—indicate that average testing time can vary greatly depending upon where a student lives. Both studies examined total testing time—including tests mandated at the district, state, and federal levels—for the average student during a school year. 30

average 25.2 hours

20 10

K 12

K 12

State of Ohio

A District in the Eastern Region of the U.S.4

3

Testing Costs

Testing Inequalities

An AFT report profiled two U.S. school districts to examine the annual cost of standardized assessments per pupil, including the cost of lost instructional time.4

1817+27

$600 $200

Eastern District

K–2 3–8 9–11

1–2

Grade Span

Cost per Student

Midwestern District

$1000

3–5 6–11

Two multistate consortia—The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC)—are each developing a set of assessments aligned with the Common Core State Standards. The PARCC assessment will cost $29.50 per student—less than the current rate paid by roughly half of the consortium’s states for state assessments. The SBAC cost estimate is $27.30 per student, less than the current rate paid by two-thirds of the consortium’s states. According to an Education Week analysis, 10 states will use the PARCC assessment during the 2014–15 school year, 18 will use the SBAC test, 21 will use other vendors’ tests, and 1 state remains undecided.5 SBAC

Other

6–8

9–12

Urban Schools

SOURCES

Consortia Costs

PARCC

80% more time 73% more time 266% more time

3–5

Suburban Schools

Grade Span

20+36+422H

Urban students spend more time taking districtmandated exams than their suburban peers, according to a study of 14 urban and suburban districts.1

Undecided

1.

Lazarín, M. (2014, October). Testing overload in America’s schools. Washington, DC: Center for American Progress. Retrieved from http://cdn.americanprogress.org/wpcontent/uploads/2014/10/LazarinOvertestingReport.pdf

2.

Council of Chief State School Officers and Council of Great City Schools (CCSSO). (2014, October 5). Commitments from CCSSO and CGCS on high-quality assessments [Webinar]. Washington, DC: CCSSO. Retrieved from https://ccsso.webex.com/ ccsso/lsr.php?RCID=e6d9610ae792458985e060d1fac2720f

3.

Ohio Department of Education. (2015, January). Testing report and recommendations. Columbus, OH: Ohio Department of Education. Retrieved from https://education.ohio. gov/getattachment/Topics/Testing/Ohio-s-State-Tests/Testing-Report-and-Recommendations-2015.pdf.aspx

4.

Nelson, H. (2013, July). Testing more, teaching less: What America’s obsession with student testing costs in money and lost instructional time. Washington, DC: American Federation of Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/news/ testingmore2013.pdf

5.

Gewertz, C., & Ujifusa, A. (2015, February 4). Testing plans set for all 50 states: Check out the final map [blog post]. Retrieved from State EdWatch at http:// blogs.edweek.org/edweek/state_edwatch/2015/02/testing_plans_set_for_ all_50_states_check_out_the_final_map.html?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_ medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=stateedwatch

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