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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 26, 2002

News Release

March Means 'Testing Season' in America's Schools

NEA Releases Parents Guide to Testing and Accountability

Washington, D.C.- For sports enthusiasts mid-March means NCAA "March Madness" basketball championships. For gardeners, thoughts to turn to preparation for spring planting. In America's schools, it's testing season. To help parents make sense of testing and prepare their children to succeed on tests, the National Education Association released A Parents Guide to Testing and Accountability. The guide is being released during the busiest testing months in our nation's schools (March, April and May), and new testing mandates in the just-passed federal education law will mean even more time and attention on testing.

"Parents often wonder about the tests their children take, and feel responsible for understanding more about the 'how' and 'why' of testing," said NEA President Bob Chase. "This guide helps parents navigate the new world of testing and provides practical advice for helping their child succeed."

As states implement the new education law and make decisions about tests, the guide provides advice and information to help parents advocate for tests that promote quality teaching and learning. Too often, poorly-developed and implemented tests have lead to rote drilling and memorization that stifles both critical thinking skills and teaching methods that encourage real-life applications. Worse, some testing systems have set children up to fail by testing them on material they didn't cover in class. Chase said many are unaware that the new law contains language directing states to align the tests with curriculum and to select tests that are valid, fair, and encourage creative teaching and higher level thinking skills. "The direction in the new law is there, but it's up to state and local school systems to follow it. The Parents' Guide empowers parents, encouraging them to persuade school leaders to administer the highest quality tests."

Chase said the new federal law will mean more testing in the early grades for the first time. "Identifying students who need extra support earlier and tracking progress in younger students is important," said Chase. "But an appropriate balance between social growth and academics is critical. Children learn important social values like respect, responsibility, empathy, and sharing in the early grades. These values are imparted through group activities, interaction with the teacher and one another, not by drilling for test questions." The NEA Parent's Guide provides support for parents to work with their schools to achieve a good balance that promotes important citizenship and social skills and rigorous academics.

NEA's Parents' Guide to Testing and Accountability can be found on the web at www.nea.org/parents/testingguide.html.

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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing 2.7 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.