Students Take Too Many Redundant Tests, Study Finds

Review of 66 Urban Districts Gauges Scope of Practice

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Students across the nation are taking tests that are redundant, misaligned with college- and career-ready standards, and often don't address students' mastery of specific content, according to a long-awaited report that provides the first in-depth look at testing in the nation's largest urban school districts.

The comprehensive report by the Washington-based Council of the Great City Schools examines testing in 66 of the council's 68 member school districts, looking at the types of tests administered, their frequency, and how they are used. The findings are expected to add hard numbers and evidence to the fractious national debate around whether U.S. students are being overtested.

The study found, for instance, that 8th grade students in an urban district spent an average of 4.22 school days taking mandatory tests last school year—the most test-taking time of any grade level. That's not counting optional tests and those given periodically by teachers to gauge student progress. And the results of mandated tests were often returned to districts months after they had been taken, reducing their usefulness for classroom instruction.

While national testing debates are often characterized by finger-pointing as to who is responsible for the aggressive testing regime, the council's report found that everyone—including classroom teachers, principals, districts, states, the federal government, and testing companies—bears some responsibility.

"The overarching take-away for us was that everybody was culpable here in one way or another," said Michael Casserly, the executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools. "There were so many actors involved, and there was so little coordination across them, that you ended up with an assessment system that was not terribly strategic."

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