The 17th policy brief published by The Benjamin Center for Public Policy Initiatives at SUNY New Paltz, which considers the amount of classroom time dedicated to standardized testing in 3rd-8th grade New York State classrooms, was the subject of a recent article published in The Washington Post.
“Time on Test: The Fixed Costs of 3-8 Standardized Testing in New York State” argues that New York State’s methods for estimating time dedicated to testing underrate the time actually spent on the testing process, and that a more accurate assessment shows this process occupying roughly double the test time limit set by the state legislature.
The Benjamin Center report asserts that the state fails to consider the many “fixed costs” of testing in its measure of how much class time testing consumes. These “fixed costs” include: time used to set up the classroom, to ensure that students are appropriately accommodated; to count and distribute the tests, to read directions and to reorient students back to instruction after tests conclude.
This significant finding was shared with Washington Post readers in an article by Education Reporter Valerie Strauss, which can be accessed at the following link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/11/19/report-time-spent-on-standardized-testing-in-schools-is-underestimated/.
The full Benjamin Center report can be accessed here.
