[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16451]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        ASSESSMENTS IN EDUCATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Oregon (Ms. Bonamici) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I am here this morning to discuss an 
important issue that we hear about when we talk with teachers, parents, 
students, and school administrators. In conversation after 
conversation, they have expressed concern about what seems like an 
endless stream of tests that, in many cases, do little, if anything, to 
improve learning or classroom instruction.
  Of course, assessments play an important role in education, and high-
quality assessments are valuable for informing meaningful instruction. 
Nonetheless, too much time is devoted to redundant, low-quality, or 
unnecessary tests.
  In many cases, teachers administer tests, but the results aren't made 
available for months, and hardworking educators have little opportunity 
to design individualized support based on the results of those tests.
  Furthermore, some of the tests are redundant. They take up time that 
could be used on meaningful instruction, use resources best spent 
elsewhere, and cause students undue stress. In other schools, too much 
time is dedicated to preparing for tests that are not well-aligned with 
State standards. Simply put, unnecessary assessments have hindered our 
progress as a global leader in education.
  We know that the Federal Government mandates several tests each year, 
and States and school districts often require even more tests. Does 
this all make sense? Do all of these tests improve instruction, improve 
public education?
  Today, I rise to discuss legislation that I am working on to help 
States and local districts implement good, reliable assessments aligned 
to standards, and importantly, eliminate redundant, poor-quality 
assessments that take valuable time from teachers and students, time 
that could be used on meaningful instruction.
  We don't need more tests. We need better tests. My bill will use an 
existing grant to provide States with funding to develop assessment 
systems that ensure the best use of students' test results and that 
align assessments with college and career-ready standards.
  The transition to rigorous content standards is hard work, and my 
bill will support States as they implement high-quality assessments 
linked to those standards.
  Working with local educational agencies, States will create 
assessment plans outlining how they will improve the quality of their 
tests, how they will use the assessment data, and how they will make 
the data more accessible to educators, students, and parents.
  This legislation will also support States and local districts that 
want to lead the way on developing more sensible assessment systems. 
States will be able to volunteer to audit their assessment systems and 
use the results to design plans to eliminate unnecessary and redundant 
testing.
  Many State school chiefs and district superintendents have recently 
made a commitment to this effort. My legislation will make available 
much-needed Federal support.

                              {time}  1015

  The focus in the classroom should be on the student. This bill will 
help States improve their assessments and make better use of the 
results, so they can draw valuable conclusions about students and give 
educators the data they need, so they can do what they do best: teach.
  Ultimately, we must address the culture of testing that has created 
stress for students, parents, and teachers. This bill is a strong first 
step. It keeps control in the hands of the States and school districts, 
and it provides the funding to streamline assessment systems and make 
sure that the remaining assessments are high quality and useful.
  My bill offers this support through an existing funding stream, and 
it will help put the focus back on our students. I urge my colleagues 
to support this bill.

                          ____________________