PB school: Students were tested on 91 of 180 school days

Parents and educators have spent the last year griping that the state’s testing mandates eat into teaching time — and now one middle school has the hard numbers to prove it.

Officials at Okeeheelee Middle school in Greenacres used a large color-coded magnetic board to plot all the days students spent testing.

The startling conclusion: 91 days of the 180 days in the school year were dedicated in part or in full to state standardized tests and district-required exams. It does not include chapter or unit tests written by teachers.

“We’re spending so much time testing [students], I can’t even teach them stuff to get tested on,” said principal David Samore. “It’s wrong.”

He said he decided to track testing days three years ago after he noticed declining morale among teachers, students and parents. He said he did not know how many days were spent testing.

“It’s a question I got repeatedly, so I said ‘let’s find out what the answer is,'” said Samore.

So for the last three years, a large magnetic board has displayed the name of the exam (gray type signals it’s a district exam; black means state-mandated) and the day it was administered.

The months of October, January, February, April and May are almost entirely filled, cluttered with little magnetic strips bearing the subject tested.

Jeff Shocket, who helps monitor testing at the school, said the number of testing days at elementary and high schools is probably lower since they only test certain grade levels.

“In middle school you have to test every single child,” he said.

The school does not compute the average number of days a student spends testing because every child takes different exams. Students who don’t speak English as a first language take more tests. Those with special needs are given more time on exams so they spend longer periods testing. And schools with low-performing children have to take another series of exams to measure reading skills.

Samore says he hopes his data helps state officials better address concerns. The district this year waived some local assessments as complaints escalated.

But as the state transitions to online testing, Samore says testing days will increase as students must take turns on a limited number of computers.

“The more you require computers to do your testing, the more you will see numbers like this,” he said.

kyi@tribpub.com, 954-356-4528 or Twitter @karen_yi