Benjamin Center’s 17th policy report weighs costs of standardized testing
The Benjamin Center for Public Policy Initiatives at SUNY New Paltz has released its latest policy brief, titled “Time on Test: The Fixed Costs of 3-8 Standardized Testing in New York State.” The report is based upon evidence provided from teachers across New York State, and finds that the testing process forces a reallocation of resources for all students, regardless of whether or not they are in a testing grade. This reallocation has the effect of displacing resources from their intended and appropriate target in order to accommodate NYS 3-8 assessments.
“This empirical work adds critically important information to the debate about the time given to standardized testing,” said Gerald Benjamin, director of The Benjamin Center and associate vice president for regional engagement at SUNY New Paltz. “We need accountability for performance, but most of all we need to be sure that the maximum possible amount of the already limited time our kids spend in school is devoted to teaching and learning.”
Recent debates and policy choices about placing limits on testing time in schools are missing a key point: the proper measurement of time devoted to state-administered standardized assessment must include both the time spent on the actual tests and the added “fixed costs” to deliver these tests. These “fixed costs” include: the 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 the conclusion of the test.
Using this common-sense standard, report authors Robin Jacobowitz and KT Tobin show that New York State 3-8 testing consumes approximately 2 percent of the minimum required annual instructional hours for these grades. This is double the 1 percent limit that the NYS legislature placed on State assessments during its 2014 legislative session, and amounts to lost instructional time for students and lost teaching time for teachers.
The report, the 17th to be released by The Benjamin Center since its inception, can be accessed and read in its entirety by following this link.
About the Benjamin Center
Independently and in collaboration with local governments, business and not-for-profits in the Hudson Valley, The Benjamin Center’s research mission is to: conduct studies on topics of regional interest; bring visibility and focus to these matters; foster communities working together to better serve citizenry; and advance the public interest in our region.
If you are interested in being on the mailing list for reports from The Benjamin Center, please send an email with your address to wilkinsc@newpaltz.edu. More information about the Benjamin Center is available online.