Testing More, Teaching Less - American Federation of Teachers

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$20,000 per pupil in the highest-spending states(Hussar and Bailey, 2011; Cornman et al., 2013).Costs of Logistics and Administrative Support. Ina study of Wisconsin’s state-mandated testing program,Zellner, Frontier and Pheifer (2006) describethe cost of logistics and administrative support as,“a broad range of efforts from school staff. Palletsof testing boxes arrive in districts. Before testing,data labels generated by the state must be verifiedfor accuracy and affixed to individual test booklets.Booklets, which include three versions of the test ateach grade level, must be placed in secure locationsbefore and after each round of testing. After testingis completed, each school has to collect booklets,pack them, and ship them off for scoring.”Table 3 uses the time data from the Wisconsinsurvey to reach an estimate of the costs of logisticsand administrative support for testing:The average school district in the Wisconsinsurvey enrolled 1,432 students. The state-mandatedtest applied to students in grades 3-8 and 10, orapproximately 800 students. Overall, the cost of logisticsand administration averaged $14 per studenttested and was composed of the following elements:• Paraprofessionals spent a per-district averageof 102 hours engaged in duties ranging fromgiving tests to small groups of test-takers to assistingteachers with whole-class testing.• Administrators spent a per district average of62 hours engaged in a variety of testing-relatedtasks. Some schools had to modify schedulesand readjust staffing needs for the several daysneeded for testing.• Test administration required substitute teachersto proctor tests or supervise the classroomsof teachers who were engaged in other testingtasks. Across all districts in the sample, 1,021substitute teachers facilitated testing or supervisedstudents.• Guidance counselors spent 92 hours, a greaterpercentage of their time facilitating the testingprocess than any other group, suggesting amarked loss of guidance services.Wisconsin students spent between 4.75 to 8.66hours a year on the state-mandated tests. The $14Testing More, Teaching Less 19
Table 3Logistics and Administrative supportAverage District CostTotal Hours Hourly Cost Total Cost Pupils Tested Cost Per pupilSecretaries 91 $23 $2,093 800 $2.62Counselors/test coordinators 92 $40 $3,680 800 $4.57Paraprofessionals 102 $13 $1,326 800 $1.68Administrators 62 $51 $3,162 800 $3.96Substitute teachers 48 $20 $960 800 $1.20$14.03per student cost for approximately 7 hours of testingyields a logistics and administration cost estimate of$2 per student, per hour of testing.The logistics and test administration burdenis likely to be comparable, if not higher, for teststaken on computers. The computer-delivered MAPinterim/benchmarking test (NWEA, 2012), forexample, lists numerous administrative activitiesneeded before the test:• Train new proctors, new teachers and staff.• Ensure technical readiness of computer labs.• Have the latest version of the test-taking softwareinstalled.• Create and submit class roster files two weeksbefore testing begins.• Download student data and test packages.• Distribute proctor and teacher usernames andpasswords.During the testing window, test results need tobe updated daily. After testing, end-of-term reportsneed to be ordered, downloaded and/or printed.20 American Federation of Teachers
Page 1 and 2: Testing More,Teaching LessWhat Amer
Page 3 and 4: Randi WeingartenpresidentLorretta J
Page 5 and 6: ation. Instead, public policy and p
Page 8 and 9: Executive SummaryOBJECTIVESStudents
Page 10 and 11: associated interim/benchmarking tes
Page 12 and 13: The Testing LandscapeState-mandated
Page 14 and 15: Table 1BAssessment Inventory, Midwe
Page 16 and 17: Midwestern Public SchoolsTesting Ca
Page 18 and 19: added teacher assessment, class siz
Page 20 and 21: approximately four hours to student
Page 24 and 25: Instructional Time Lostto Test Prep
Page 26 and 27: proximately three hours per week. T
Page 28 and 29: Time Initiative estimated that incr
Page 30 and 31: ReferencesBruno, Robert, Steven Ash
Page 32 and 33: APPENDIXResearch on Time Used for T
Page 34 and 35: Appendix Table ADirect Cost of Asse
Page 36 and 37: Appendix Table CEstimated Hours of

Testing More, Teaching Less - American Federation of Teachers

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