Teachers shouldn't skip giving standardized exams

Teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District are resisting its periodic standardized tests, a reaction as understandable as it is unacceptable. Testing reduces the time available for instruction and for moments of fun and rest that also contribute to a successful school day. And teachers feel that the inventiveness they bring to the classroom is crushed under the weighty list of material to be covered in time for the annual state tests in the spring.

January 30, 2009