Feeding the Beast

In a state that focuses excessively on testing, the Sumner County School Board has unanimously decided to feed the beast. The Hendersonville Standard reports that Sumner County has agreed to enter into a contract with a new benchmark testing provider so that our students may take a test to get ready for the TNReady test:

School officials are hopeful that new benchmark tests that will be administered to elementary and middle school students in February will better prepare teachers and students for the state’s TNReady assessments in the spring. 

The Sumner County Board of Education voted unanimously during a special-called meeting on Jan. 7 to approve a bid of $72,460 from TE21, Inc., to purchase pencil and paper tests for 6,819 elementary school students and 7,173 middle school students.

The assessments will be administered some time in February and will measure students’ understanding in the subjects of math, science, social students and ELA (English language arts), according to Sumner County Schools Spokesperson Jeremy Johnson.  

While school officials may be "hopeful" about yet another round of testing, students, parents, and teachers are certainly less than enthused.

It's worth noting here that TNReady has been riddled with problems since inception and that some at the Department of Education predict more trouble this year:

“There is a complete lack of urgency or understanding regarding the human resource needs to launch an effective assessment in support of the districts, schools, teachers, students and parents of Tennessee.”

It's not clear what Sumner County officials hope to achieve by spending these funds on a February test ahead of TNReady. It is clear that Tennessee students are among the most tested of any in the country.

Recently, the Murfreesboro City School Board called on the state to reduce the testing burden placed on districts.


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