Michael Bennet: “Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think there is a lot we can do to streamline those tests, but it is not the Federal…”

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think there is a lot we can do to streamline those tests, but it is not the Federal requirement that is causing it, it is the way the Federal requirement works with State assessments and district assessments, and we have to do a better job. I also think we ought to think differently about the testing we are doing for teaching and learning, which needs to be continuous, ongoing, and inform a teacher's instruction and inform the principal's leadership at the school. The testing that is done for accountability should be a lot less. We heard testimony from the superintendent of the Denver Public Schools, Tom Boasberg, who told us he thought that for accountability purposes, probably all we need is 4 hours a year in reading and math. I know the Bennet girls would settle for that. They would agree with that. They would do that deal. But until somebody comes up with a better way of measuring where kids are, we need the annual assessments. We have to have them because it is the only way you can show growth. When No Child Left Behind started, it asked and answered a completely irrelevant question--a question that was so frustrating to the teachers I knew in the Denver Public Schools and to our principals. It asked: How did this year's fourth graders do compared to last year's fourth graders? This is a completely irrelevant question.…”