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Study: Standardized Tests Overwhelming Public Schools (washingtonpost.com)
An anonymous reader writes: A new study examined the amount of time U.S. public schools spend on government-mandated standardized tests, and found that the requirements are detrimental to both students and teachers. On average, students will take 112 standardized tests during their K-12 education. From grades 3-11, students spend over 20 hours per year on standardized tests alone. "It portrays a chock-a-block jumble, where tests have been layered upon tests under mandates from Congress, the U.S. Department of Education and state and local governments, many of which the study argues have questionable value to teachers and students. Testing companies that aggressively market new exams also share the blame, the study said."
The U.S. Department of Education has issued an action plan to school districts outlining ways to reduce useless tests and eliminate redundant ones. President Obama even posted a video pledging to reduce the test load of American students. "Standardized testing has caused intense debate on Capitol Hill as lawmakers work to craft a replacement for No Child Left Behind. Testing critics tried unsuccessfully to erase the federal requirement that schools test in math and reading. Civil rights advocates pushed back, arguing that tests are an important safeguard for struggling students because publicly reported test scores illuminate the achievement gap between historically underserved students and their more affluent peers."
The U.S. Department of Education has issued an action plan to school districts outlining ways to reduce useless tests and eliminate redundant ones. President Obama even posted a video pledging to reduce the test load of American students. "Standardized testing has caused intense debate on Capitol Hill as lawmakers work to craft a replacement for No Child Left Behind. Testing critics tried unsuccessfully to erase the federal requirement that schools test in math and reading. Civil rights advocates pushed back, arguing that tests are an important safeguard for struggling students because publicly reported test scores illuminate the achievement gap between historically underserved students and their more affluent peers."
180 school days * 7 hours per day = 1260 hours. 20 hours is 1.6% of that time.
The teachers just don't like accountability.
I call BS on your calling BS.
You haven't seen a single parent in that situation, come the fuck on.
Oh get over yourself lefty. As much as there are religious extremists who ruin education (and just about everything else), remember that if we keep on topic the entire problem is the sentiment that all children must advance at the same level, otherwise it's discrimination/think-of-the-children! That attitude of THE LEFT has caused *way* more damage to American education than the Jesus freaks ever could.
The idiocy is blaming schools for disparities of achievement amongst different student demographics, except the problem doesn't originate from schools. It originates from society. The fix will not come from screwing the schools with left-wing political correctness designed to *discourage* talented achievement so that disengaged students look better. The first problem that needs to be fixed has nothing to do with students at all, it has to do with THE PARENTS. If you want to fix education, start with educating the *parents* of poor-performing students to become better parents. Most poor-performing students have one thing in common: they don't give two shits about education because their parents taught them not to care. Seriously. Go into any remedial class in high school and watch the kids. They sit on the floor and brush each other's hair and talk about who got pregnant, all while ignoring their study papers about basic arithmetic. This problem didn't start when they walked on school campus.
But I guess that doesn't fit your left-wing soapbox narrative, does it?