Less testing, not more

Sent to the NY Times, Jan 29

The Times notes that No Child Left Behind was unpopular "party because it requires schools to administer far more standardized tests …". ("Experts Say a Rewrite of Nation’s Main Education Law Will Be Hard This Year," January 28). Education Secretary Duncan has announced that the Race to the Top national standards plan will include national tests linked to the standards, which means far more testing than we had with NCLB.

All educators understand the necessity of assessment, but it is our obligation to do the minimum amount of testing necessary, and no more. Every minute spent testing that is not necessary bleeds time from learning, and every dollar spent on testing that is not necessary is stolen from investments that really need to be made in schools.

Any new education law should result in less testing, not more.

Stephen Krashen


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/education/29child.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
Experts Say a Rewrite of Nation’s Main Education Law Will Be Hard This Year
By SAM DILLON Published: January 28, 2010

In his State of the Union address, President Obama held out the hope of overhauling the main law outlining the federal role in public schools, a sprawling 45-year-old statute that dates to the Johnson administration.