Education Week - May 14, 2014 - 8

More Educators Say 'Right Amount' of Time Spent on Testing
By Catherine Gewertz
A new survey finds that teachers
and administrators are looking
more favorably than they did two
years ago on the amount of time that
teachers and students spend on testing
and test preparation.
In poll results released last week,
the Northwest Evaluation Association
found that most teachers still
think too much time is spent on
testing. But fewer believe so than in
2011, the last time the Portland, Ore.based
nonprofit testmaker conducted
the survey. Compared with two years
ago, in fact, more teachers think that
they and their students are spending
"just the right amount of time" on
preparing for and taking or administering
assessments.
The trend is even more pronounced
among administrators.
Compared with 2011, the proportion
who say that students and teachers
spend too much time involved with
testing has dropped by double digits.
Now, a minority of administrators
say students and teachers spend too
much time on those activities.
Which Kind of Tests?
The study was based on 20-minute
online surveys conducted last
month with a nationally representative
sample of 1,004 K-12 teachers,
200 administrators, and 1,040
students in grades 4-12.
Given the recent waves of opposition
to high-stakes standardized
testing, the results took some educators
by surprise.
"I am surprised by it. I don't think
it's an accurate reflection of what
we're seeing, at least here in New
York state," said Elizabeth Phillips,
the principal of PS 321 in Brooklyn.
After her teachers organized protests
against this spring's common-core
tests, Ms. Phillips says she received
"tons of emails and phone calls" from
educators all over the country who oppose
high-stakes standardized tests.
Ms. Phillips said her teachers don't
oppose all forms of testing; they support
teacher-developed tests and other
kinds of one-on-one assessments that
they use often in the classroom.
American Federation of Teachers
President Randi Weingarten, who
has called for a halt to consequences
linked to common-core testing, said
that the nwea study reinforces the
need for accountability systems that
place more value on improvement
than on "testing and punishing" students
and teachers.
"The study's subtitle really says it
all-'Students and educators want
tests that support learning,' " she
wrote in an email to Education Week.
"Not surprisingly, standardized summative
assessments are considered
relatively useless to inform instruction
or improve student learning.
That's why there is such a hue and
cry from teachers across the country
Time STUDENTS
spend preparing
for and taking
assessments
2011
13%
2013
Time TEACHERS
spend preparing for
and administering
assessments
28 12 53
56 42 6
60 38 9
8%
28%
60%
38%
53%
7%
6%
36%
56%
42%
Too much
Just the right amount
SURVEY SAYS
Compared with two years ago,
more teachers say assessment
takes up "just the right
amount" of teachers' and
students' time.
Education WEEk WEBINAR
36 8 52
52%
Too little
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
SOURCE: Grunwald Associates LLC
over the excessive amount of time
and importance placed on them."
Teachers and students both reported
that tests are important.
Half the teachers said they couldn't
do their jobs well without them.
More than 90 percent of students-
even at the high school level-said
that tests are "very important" or
"somewhat important" for a halfdozen
purposes, including helping
A TALE OF TWO DISTRICTS:
Making Curricular Decisions
For the Common Core
Making Curricular Decisions
For the Common Core
their teachers chart their progress,
understanding what they're learning,
and setting goals for learning.
But responses also showed that
teachers, administrators, and students
all place greater value on classroom
tests than they do on states'
summative accountability exams.
Ideal Focus
Seven in 10 teachers, and 55 percent
of administrators, said state
accountability tests take too much
time away from learning. Fifty-four
percent of teachers and 89 percent
of administrators said the real focus
of testing should be "frequently
tracking student performance and
providing daily or weekly feedback
in the classroom," the study said.
Nine in 10 students said that
tests results aren't very helpful to
them or their teachers after more
than one week.
The students' responses showed
that they get far more support when
they perform poorly on classroom
tests than when they turn in weak
results on year-end accountability
tests. They said that state assessments
were far more likely to result
in "no extra support." If they did
poorly on a classroom test, though,
students were much more likely
to get before- or after-school help,
one-on-one or small-group support
in class, or access to additional resources,
they reported.
> www.edweek.org/go/webinars
A TALE OF TWO DISTRICTS:
Making Curricular Decisions
For the Common Core
GUESTS:
SCOTT FRITZ, chief academic officer,
Orange County Public Schools, Fla.
LISA WORSHAM, director of
elementary curriculum, Long Beach
Unified School District, Calif.
REGISTRATION IS FREE!
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
2 to 3 p.m. ET
www.edweek.org/go/webinar/CCJourneys
LIVE OR ON-DEMAND
MODERATOR:
CATHERINE GEWERTZ,
associate editor, Education Week
Sponsored by:
TALE OF TWO DISTRICTS:
One school district in Florida and
another in California faced the
same problem: They needed new
curricula for the common core. But
they solved that problem in very
different ways.
8 | EDUCATION WEEK | May 14, 2014 | www.edweek.org
http://www.edweek.org/go/webinars http://www.edweek.org/go/webinar/CCJourneys http://www.edweek.org
Education Week - May 14, 2014

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