TUCSON, Ariz. — Does Tucson Unified School District test too much?
Some members of the TUSD community think so, and are starting a petition to ask the district for fewer standardized tests.
The Tucson Educators Association, a union of teachers, held a public forum Tuesday where they went public with a petition asking TUSD to stop with all non-state mandated assessments.
TUSD uses what they call a Comprehensive and Balanced Assessment System. In the 2023 CBAS Manual, the district says they use multiple tests throughout the year as a measure of progress instead of relying exclusively on the annual state-required tests.
Several parents reported that these tests had negative impacts on their children's mental health since the quarterly benchmark tests start as early as second grade.
Teresa Sena taught for TUSD for a few years, but, now, she coaches teachers in the district. She says she's never liked standardized testing and feels that the same standards could be tested through research papers, presentations or storytelling.
“I think standardized testing has a place but I don’t think that we should use that as the one data set we use to measure how students are growing and developing as youth," she said. "We should be looking at other kinds of factors.”
Other teachers at the forum agreed, but added that constant standardized testing also favors the students who have time to prepare instead of working or taking on familial responsibilities.
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Alex Dowd is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9, where her work combines her two favorite hobbies: talking to new people and learning about the community around her. Her goal is to eventually meet every single person in Tucson. Share your story ideas with Alex via email, alex.dowd@kgun9.com, or connecting on Instagram or X.
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