All of this testing occurs above and beyond teachers' classroom tests. As a result, we already know nearly half our students are not performing as well as they should be. We don't need another test to tell us how our students are doing. We should help these students - not test them again. The U.S. Department of Education has quickly planned these new tests without wide public input.
Valid tests take years to construct.
The fast-track nature of this initiative has alarmed many educators and policy makers. Tests don't generate higher academic performance. The administration and Education Department have talked as if a new national test will create better students. New national tests could lead to a national curriculum. In developing new assessments, there is a tendency to create new curriculum to match those assessments.