Key points:
- End-of-year statewide assessments are vital, but are flawed in several ways
- A “through-year” system administers shorter tests throughout the year that can give teachers immediate feedback
- See related article: 3 new trends in student assessment
All around the country, school has ended for students and summer break is underway. In many schools, students spent the last few weeks of the year sitting for standardized tests to assess the year’s instruction. Unfortunately, those tests will be locked away until they're graded at some point this summer, with parents and educators not learning results until late in the summer, or in some cases, after students start school next year. By that time, students will have a new set of teachers, and these teachers a new set of students with different learning styles and needs.
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