However, the vice president encourages that these exams be only one part of the students' evaluation, Cabrera told Education World. Gore believes that tests can be useful tools for parents and educators. However, the two national education associations take a different view about how much the assessment should be weighted in determining the student's overall evaluation. The 2.5 million-member NEA does not believe one test should be the only measurement to determine grade promotion or graduation from high school. The AFT, unlike the NEA, supports exit exams and believes students should not be promoted or graduate unless they can demonstrate mastery of certain skills through an assessment on a standardized test.
Testing is essential.
But when you add high stakes to it, we have problems with it. No single test can do everything, and that's what they are saying high-stakes tests can do. Assessing children should be based on many measures over time, including classroom observation and teacher-made tests. The NEA policy is that high-stakes tests do not serve students or their teachers. He said grading the tests is a lengthy process, and test scores provide limited feedback to teachers several months after the test has been administered.