The group PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) has rolled out new standardized tests in Ohio, resulting in communications between governors, superintendents, and school boards about the potential counter-productive nature of the “over testing” and the digital divide that taking them on computers creates.
Some school districts across the country have set aside two months per year for test preparation and testing itself. Is this distracting from (potentially) two months used to focus on curriculum or classroom syllabus? In similar districts, students between 3rd and 12th grade take an estimated 21 standardized tests, resulting in two to three tests per year. Is this too much, or are standards finally where they need to be?
To read Steve Kramer’s (superintendent of Madeira School District in Ohio) letter to Ohio’s superintendent on the matter click here.
To read of the potential disruption and effect of digital testing on overall test scores click here.