Achieve has launched the Student Assessment Inventory for School Districts, a tool which will enable district leaders to take stock of how many assessments are administered throughout a school year and for what purposes they give assessments.

Designed from a student perspective, the tool can be used by education leaders to make decisions about what amount of testing is appropriate and to be more transparent with parents about the testing in schools. It supports a process by which districts evaluate current assessments, determine the minimum testing necessary to serve essential diagnostic, instructional, and accountability purposes, and work to ensure that every district-mandated test is useful and of high quality.

Quality assessments are a critical component of improving college and career readiness in the United States. Educators rely upon consistent performance measures to monitor student progress and their own effectiveness. However, educators, parents, and students across the country have expressed concerns about the amount of time that testing is taking away from teaching and learning. School district officials have the opportunity to respond to these concerns about over-testing by leading a conversation among educators and the broader community that directly addresses the amount of testing and points the way toward a more coherent, educationally sound approach to assessment.

The Student Assessment Inventory for School Districts is available on the Achieve website at: http://www.achieve.org/assessmentinventory.