"Since the beginning of my teaching career 21 years ago, I have been required to implement testing of my students. This usually took place at the end of the school year. The results were used by the students' teachers the next year to help teach these students.

"NCLB has, more and more, required us to teach to the test. No longer is the school interested in using assessment to benefit children and see their progress.Testing now is done to meet AYP and to stay out of hot water with district administrators, state officials, and federal education leaders. Because districts are so concerned about school scores, teachers have been mandated to devote extraordinary hours to reading, writing, and math.

"In my building, we are required to give 90 minutes each day to reading, to devote a minimum of one hour for math each day, and to spend 30 minutes on writing. This leaves only 45 minutes each day for all other subjects: science, social studies, art, and health.

"I was hired 21 years ago, given my keys, my classroom, and my kids. I felt that there was a clear expectation that I would make and would carry out educational decisions that would be in the best interest of my students. I no longer feel as though my creativity and knowledge is what is cared about but rather how well I can read a textbook.

"It breaks my heart every year when I pass out the Record of Student Achievement to my second-language students who have struggled to increase their understanding of English, many of whom are living in poverty, and tell them that they did not meet the state criteria for their grade level. What the RSA doesn't show is how much progress they have made throughout the year."

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