Too much testing cuts into learning

THE GOAL of the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 was to make schools more accountable to their neediest students and to the public. Students must demonstrate competence by passing an English and math test, the MCAS, in order to graduate from high school. But now, passing merely two tests is no longer enough, and an ever-increasing number of tests and retesting opportunities has been imposed upon school systems. Consequently, testing has transformed urban schools into testing and test preparation centers.

The Department of Education requires high schools to schedule 28 days of testing, amounting to 15 percent of the 180-day school year.

As teachers at Lowell High School, the second largest high school in Massachusetts, we believe these testing days adversely affect almost every student and teacher. Not only do the many testing days disrupt continuity in the classroom, but the repeated interruptions throughout the school year interfere with learning and teaching. Many teachers are frustrated by these hidden costs of state-mandated testing.

Testing in October and November illustrates the toll on classroom instruction at our school. On Oct. 8, the entire school schedule was disrupted for the pilot test for the Massachusetts English Proficiency Assessment, as nearly one-quarter of the school's 3,500 students had to be tested and placed in new testing rooms, and teachers had to be reassigned to proctor tests. This test eliminated three periods of instruction.

Two weeks later, the official MEPA again preempted the same three classes.

MCAS retesting for English Language Arts came two weeks later, removing nearly 300 students from half of their classes over a three-day period. Because MCAS is an untimed test, many students used the entire school day and missed all their classes.

The following week brought two more days of MCAS retesting for math, and once again nearly 300 students missed half their classes.

Finally, students who were absent on any testing day were required to make them up, resulting in more missed class time.

What is the effect of all this testing?

Many students take semester-long courses to prepare them solely for MCAS. As Tony Wagner, a consultant for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, writes in his book "The Global Achievement Gap," ". . .in schools that serve more economically disadvantaged kids, teaching to the [MCAS] test is the only curriculum - not for a month, but for the entire year."

As a result of the need to take these focused classes and retests, the students who need the most instructional time - those who are weakest in the subjects being tested - are the ones who miss the most classes.

Classroom continuity is lost when such a large proportion of students is required to be absent for several days over several weeks. Students need several days of uninterrupted study to develop such concepts as the causes and events leading to the Civil War, factoring in algebra, or the process of photosynthesis.

Meanwhile, students are frustrated and tired from constant testing and retesting, which often negatively impacts their performance and attitude.

Nevertheless, the testing continues. In February, sophomores will be tested in biology. Throughout March, April, and May, there will be another round of retesting for juniors and seniors who have not yet passed the MCAS, followed by more MEPA testing, and then MCAS testing for all sophomores.

We do not question the MCAS as a graduation requirement; we have seen improvements in teaching and learning because of it. However, we do question the educational efficacy of such time-consuming testing that removes so many of our neediest students from the classroom and interrupts all students' learning.

The governor's MCAS task force should assess the impact of the testing schedule on students and consider alternative scheduling options. They should consider the consequences to students when an unwieldy testing schedule trumps valuable learning in the classroom.

John Croes and Miriam Morgenstern are teachers at Lowell High School.