"I am a special education inclusion teacher who, because of my caseload's needs , spent three weeks, morning and afternoon, administering tests. That was three weeks that I could have spent teaching, and my students could have spent learning.

"Our fifth Grade Teachers and school administrators all remarked about the rise in student negativity and behavior problems during the weeks of testing. My students quickly became frustrated and gave up. They required many pep talks and much encouragement to continue with test taking. I spent much of this testing time refocusing them and attempting to maintain a hang-in-there attitude. As to the validity of these tests, I really question their results.

 "I work extremely hard to build self-concept and perseverance in my students, but this testing nearly wipes out my months of work. I view the testing weeks as torture sessions that are cruel and unusual punishment for my students. I certainly do not enjoy this time of year, yet I do put effort into encouraging and maintaining a positive outlook.

"Please reconsider NCLB. It is torture and creates a negative atmosphere and truly does not measure student progress."

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