It took weeks of work. My children also spent two beautiful spring days at an outdoor camp, learning about bees and nocturnal animals and how to operate a canoe. In middle school, the kids spent three spring days in another city competing in band, orchestra and chorus competitions for which they had prepared all year. When they got back, they put together a Renaissance festival. A bunch of high school kids lost an entire day of what was certainly important test preparation because they were busy planting trees.
Assessments are important.
We need to know if the teachers are accomplishing anything in the classroom, if our schools work. And every proud parent is curious to know how their child stacks up against the averages. But we have lost our way. More testing doesn't make kids smarter. More learning does.