The New Improved Computerized Standardized Test

To reduce the cost of Education and improve student learning, 

a 32-step guide to how to administer the new tests:

Step 1: take 2 hour training
Step 2: repeat 2 hour training for staff who didn't get it.
Step 3: spend ½ hour looking for manual on website
Step 4: run out of paper printing manual and give up.
Step 5: Administer practice test.
Step 6: Call trainers to find out why practice test didn't work.
Step 7: Administer practice test.
Step 8: Call trainers to find out why practice test still doesn't work.
Step 9: Give practice test while other teachers entertain students you should be teaching.
Step 10: Administer official math test.
Step 11: Call trainers to find out why official math test not working.
Step 12: Administer official math test.
Step 13: Call trainers to find out what to do if you have given part 2 of the test before part 1.
Step 14: Make a schedule on how to teach 4 special lessons to six students prior to giving part 1 of the test.
Step 15: Spend ½ hour trying to make the "Student Performance" feature on the website give a report on student performance.
Step 16: Spend ½ hour listening to tech support explain why the report doesn't display any information.
Step 17: Prepare special lessons.
Step 18: Give special lessons to students while another teacher entertains your classes.
Step 19: Give English Test part 1 while teachers entertain both the classes you should have been teaching.
Step 20: Call in a second teacher to help deal with behavioral incident involving student frustrated with too much testing.
Step 21:Blow off last class of the day because students too frustrated to return to class.
Step 22: Give special lessons to students who got one of the fifteen incorrect special lessons available for each grade while another teacher covers the class...
Step 23: Deal with behavioral incident caused by student sick of too much testing by yourself.
Step 24: Give English Test part 1 to students who had to redo the special lessons while other teachers cover both the classes...
Step 25: Call in two more teachers to help deal with behavioral incident of student frustrated with too much testing.
Step 26: Fill out documentation on behavioral incident.
Step 27: Call all-school hockey game to work out aggravation from too much testing
Step 28: Spend ½ hour writing up feedback requested by the testing program on how helpful the website is.
Step 29: Spend ½ hour searching the website for the place to leave the feedback.
Step 30: Give English Test part 2
Step 31: Blow off last class of the day because teachers too frustrated to return to class.
Step 32: Repeat steps 14-31 for the math tests.

So was it all worth it? Was it worth sacrificing almost 5% of the school year to take this test? Given that the report on student progress doesn't work, it's hard to say, but we can observe this: out of 24 testing sessions, 1 was locked out before finished, 1 was completed while screaming at other students, 3 were completed in less than ten minutes, 4 were completed on the verge of tears, 4 were attempted carefully for half the test, and then finished off within five minutes of everyone else reaching the end, and 10 have a reasonable chance of returning results within the ballpark of the student's actual ability.

If you think that adds up to a good return on the investment, I have a math class I can enroll you in. Or I could, if I weren't so busy testing.