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Annual Testing: Learning What Works

Just as you can't judge a book by its cover, you can't judge a school by its location or its design. Some rundown schools in poor areas are making great progress at improving student performance, while some suburban schools with fancy athletic equipment and new science labs are failing to educate many of their students adequately—particularly their disadvantaged and minority students. The only sure way for parents to know how their children's schools are doing is to examine the regular, objective information on student progress that the president's plan will require all public schools to produce. The best way to obtain that useful information is through standards-based assessments—or tests.

Taking a test is like going to a doctor for a check-up. Just like a check-up, a test can tell you what kind of help you need and where you need it most. It also gives your children a chance to demonstrate what they have learned. While tests may intimidate, just like a doctor's office, they are safe and effective. If a state fails to use standardized tests, the state will have a hard time making sure no child is forgotten and no classroom is slipping through the cracks. The same is true for districts and schools. Through effective testing, communities and parents can learn which schools are doing the best. They can also discover the methods that work the best and encourage their wider adoption.

If your state starts testing in reading and math, you can expect to get much more information every year on how your children are doing in school. Go over the information carefully, take note of your children's strengths and weaknesses, understand how their classes work and what their teachers are doing, and talk to your children about how you can help them progress toward the academic standards set for their grade. One thing you may hear when people discuss testing is that teachers will "teach to the test." The important thing to remember is that each state must choose a test that matches what children are expected to learn. A welldesigned test really measures those things a state wants every child to know and be able to do.

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Last updated—December 17, 2004 (jer)