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Mother and parent advocates ask Hamilton County to cut standardized benchmark testing and publish testing hours
Summary
A parent presented detailed calculations she said show a first grader spends 67 hours on standardized tests and urged the board to reduce benchmarks and publish actual testing hours by grade.
Amanda Shaw, a Hamilton County parent and district employee, told the school board at the April 28 work session that she calculated the time her first grader spent on standardized testing and urged the district to reduce benchmark assessments.
“His minutes are important to me,” Shaw said, describing a cross‑section analysis she titled Hamilton County Pulse Check. She told the board she totaled 67 hours of standardized testing for her first grader this year — “the equivalent to 19 days of instruction time” — and said content tests add another roughly 36 hours.
Shaw asked the board to reduce K‑2 benchmark testing to one or two times per year and to publish “actual hours and what it's being spent on,” not just a testing schedule. She also recommended limiting micro‑phase testing to no more than twice annually and asked the board to “trust the system” already in place for accountability.
Shaw said over-testing contributes to lost instructional time and can widen gaps between district students and private‑school peers who face fewer standardized tests. She requested continued conversation with district leaders and offered the document she provided to the board for follow-up.
Ending: Shaw asked the board to review testing volume and transparency as it considers budget and program priorities; she offered to continue the discussion with district staff and the board.
