Assessments in Education

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I am here this morning to discuss an important issue that we hear about when we talk with teachers, parents, students, and school administrators. In conversation after conversation, they have expressed concern about what seems like an endless stream of tests that, in many cases, do little, if anything, to improve learning or classroom instruction.

Of course, assessments play an important role in education, and high-quality assessments are valuable for informing meaningful instruction. Nonetheless, too much time is devoted to redundant, low-quality, or unnecessary tests.

In many cases, teachers administer tests, but the results aren't made available for months, and hardworking educators have little opportunity to design individualized support based on the results of those tests.

Furthermore, some of the tests are redundant. They take up time that could be used on meaningful instruction, use resources best spent elsewhere, and cause students undue stress. In other schools, too much time is dedicated to preparing for tests that are not well-aligned with State standards. Simply put, unnecessary assessments have hindered our progress as a global leader in education.

We know that the Federal Government mandates several tests each year, and States and school districts often require even more tests. Does this all make sense? Do all of these tests improve instruction, improve public education?

Today, I rise to discuss legislation that I am working on to help States and local districts implement good, reliable assessments aligned to standards, and importantly, eliminate redundant, poor-quality assessments that take valuable time from teachers and students, time that could be used on meaningful instruction.

We don't need more tests. We need better tests. My bill will use an existing grant to provide States with funding to develop assessment systems that ensure the best use of students' test results and that align assessments with college and career-ready standards.

The transition to rigorous content standards is hard work, and my bill will support States as they implement high-quality assessments linked to those standards.

Working with local educational agencies, States will create assessment plans outlining how they will improve the quality of their tests, how they will use the assessment data, and how they will make the data more accessible to educators, students, and parents.

This legislation will also support States and local districts that want to lead the way on developing more sensible assessment systems. States will be able to volunteer to audit their assessment systems and use the results to design plans to eliminate unnecessary and redundant testing.

Many State school chiefs and district superintendents have recently made a commitment to this effort. My legislation will make available much-needed Federal support.

The focus in the classroom should be on the student. This bill will help States improve their assessments and make better use of the results, so they can draw valuable conclusions about students and give educators the data they need, so they can do what they do best: teach.

Ultimately, we must address the culture of testing that has created stress for students, parents, and teachers. This bill is a strong first step. It keeps control in the hands of the States and school districts, and it provides the funding to streamline assessment systems and make sure that the remaining assessments are high quality and useful.

My bill offers this support through an existing funding stream, and it will help put the focus back on our students. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source