Tests, tests and more tests

Even as N.C.  education officials are eliminating some state exams,  they decided last week to require all juniors to take the ACT in March to gauge college readiness.  The state will pay $5.5 million to provide that test and a lead-up test for sophomores,  the Raleigh News & Observer reports.  State officials hope to get federal permission to scrap the 10th-grade writing test and apply that money toward the ACT.

Meanwhile,  Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has completed another 125 tests to gauge the basic skills of kids from pre-K to grade 12.  Unlike the dozens of year-end exams that drew flak last year,  partly because of plans to use them for rating teachers,  these  "formative assessments"  are designed to be given during  the year to size up student needs.

Here's what Chief Information Officer Scott Muri reported to the school board:  "The assessments address the four major content areas of math,  language arts,  science and social studies for middle and high school.  Elementary schools chose to stagger the formative process by beginning the year with math and language arts.  Science and social studies will follow later in the year.  For young students  (pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and first grade),  we developed five performance tasks that will be administered throughout the school year.  Schools will set the administration times to best meet student needs and school schedules."

I know this blog has been politics-heavy lately, but I hope some educators are reading and can weigh in on  how this is working.  Teacher comments have provided a reality check for all of us  --  reporters,  school board members,  parents and others  --  who are trying to make sense of this from a distance.