Urban  school systems in the U.S. give too many tests,says a new study.

President Obama agrees. In an open letter to parents, he asks:

“I’ve got a pop quiz for parents and teachers across thecountry. If our kids had more free time at school, whatwould you want them to do with it?

“A. Learn to play a musical instrument.
“B. Study a new language
“C. Learn how to code HTML
“D. Take more standardized tests

“If you’re like most of the parents and teachers I hear from, you didn’t choose‘D.’ I wouldn’t either… In moderation, smart strategic tests can help usmeasure our kids’ progress in school. 

“But I also hear from parents who rightly worry about too much testing. And I’ve heard from teachers who feel so much pressure to teach to a test that ittakes the joy out of teaching and learning. Both for them and for the students.”

The study found that Grade 8 students in the 2014-2015 school year spent anaverage of 4.2 days, or 2.3 percent of school time, taking tests. Grade 8 had the most testing time of any grade.

Too many tests?

The report said that schools gave too many tests in the same subject.Students had to show how much they had learned again and again.  

Often, schools did not receive test results until months later. When testresults arrived, schools could not make timely changes to the curriculum toimprove learning.

Also, the report found that the majority of tests did not align with educationalstandards. The tests gathered information about how the students weredoing. But it was unclear that the tests measured if students had the skills tosucceed in college or a career.

The result, the report says, is an illogical system of national testing. Thesystem does not seem to be well planned.

Why are there so many tests?

The study comes at an important time in the debate over testing in U.S.schools. In recent years, politicians and educators have debated how muchtesting is necessary.

Historically, local and state governments have been responsible for schooling. In the 1990s, educators and politicians demanded that the federal governmentstep in. They asked that state and local governments agree to educationstandards. Some schools in some states and cities were not doing well.

In 2002, Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act. The law‘s goal was to improve standards at primary and secondary schools. It required states tofind the substandard schools by testing them.

But many students performed poorly even though they graduated from highschool. Some were not prepared for college or for a career. Politiciansdebated about using national standards to measure education across the US.

They never reached an agreement.

In 2009, some U.S. states began the Common Core Standards Initiative.Common Core sets milestones students should reach for English, LanguageArts and mathematics. States that have adopted Common Core will test tomeasure student‘s success in the same subject areas.

However, local and state governments can also give their own tests. Andthose tests differ, even if they cover the same subject. This partly explainswhy schools give so many tests in the U.S.

International perspectives on testing

Ideas about testing in schools vary around the globe.

In Japan, it is common for schools to have many tests, particularly in highschool.

Glen Hill, an assistant professor at Obihiro University in Hokkaido, Japan,said the private school where he taught had five tests a year. They lasted allday and covered many subjects.

Like in the U.S., test results in Japan were used to measure a school‘sperformance.

In other countries, students spend very little time taking tests.

In Finland, high–school students take one national test for entrance into auniversity. Students may take other tests, but they are smaller, and measureprogress. The results do not hold schools accountable, as they do in the U.S.Many education experts consider Finland to have the best education systemin the world.

One feature of standardized tests is that they allow for comparison. Australiahas a website with test scores, so that parents, students and educators cancompare schools across Australia. They can see which schools or groupsare performing at a lower level.  

What do children really remember?

The White House released an action plan on testing after the Great Citiesreport. It suggests principles and steps to balance teaching with testing. 

President Obama said he did not remember how teachers prepared him totake a test. Instead, he remembers how they prepared him to explore theworld around him.

“But when I look back on the great teachers who shaped my life, what Iremember isn’t the way they prepared me to take a standardized test. What Iremember is the way they taught me to believe in myself. To be curious aboutthe world.

“To take charge of my own learning so that I could reach my full potential. To inspire me to open up a window into parts of the world I’d never thought ofbefore. That’s what good teaching is. That’s what a great education is…Because learning is about so much more than filling in the right bubble.”

I’m Jill Robbins.

 

Words in This Story

standardize v. to change (things) so that they are similar and consistent andagree with rules about what is proper and acceptable

urban adj. of or relating to cities and the people who live in them

standards n. a level of quality, achievement, etc., that is consideredacceptable or desirable

bubble n. a circle in which you make a mark to show that you choosesomething (often on a test).

illogical adj. not thinking about things in a reasonable or sensible way