Students take up to 88 standardized tests before high school, but more testing doesn’t improve learning

Source: The Conversation – USA (2)

The public K-12 school system in the United States has become pervasively shaped by standardized testing.

I began teaching mathematics in 2005, four years after the federal law No Child Left Behind was enacted. This law expanded state testing and tied test results to school performance.

Most districts changed their curricula to focus more on the content and skills covered on state tests.

Many school districts increased their instructional weekly time for English and mathematics, with average increases of 47% for English and 37% for mathematics from 2001 to 2007.

To make room for additional time spent on these subjects, 44% of school districts cut time from other subjects or activities, such as the arts.

A 2026 study of 67 school districts across 38 states found that, before high school, students take a median of 57 state- and district-required assessments.

A short-lived law with lasting effects

No Child Left Behind was replaced by another law, the Every Student Succeeds Act, in 2015.

Although the Every Student Succeeds Act aimed to reduce the role of testing in classrooms, standardized tests continue to shape what teachers teach, how they use instructional time and how schools define success.

All U.S. public schools are required to administer standardized tests in reading and math annually to students in grades three through eight and at least once in high school. These tests measure whether students are reading and understanding mathematics at, above or below the average, when compared to other students across the state.

Students’ scores on these tests can affect schools’ ratings and rankings, and can also determine whether states monitor or take over public school districts that are not performing well.

Too much time

The exact number of tests students take each year before high school ranges from 35 to 88 tests. The study also found no relationship between the number of assessments students took and their proficiency or growth in English or mathematics.

The National Association of State Boards of Education also reports that some districts give students seven assessments per grade, with most tests administered one to three times a year.

Older research also documents the time teachers spend preparing students for state tests.

A 2016 survey found that 62% of K-12 public school teachers reported spending too much time preparing students for state-mandated tests. Teachers estimated spending an average of 14 out of 180 school days preparing students for these exams, whether it be reviewing the question formats students see on tests or teaching test-taking strategies.

In the same 2016 national survey, 29% of teachers reported spending more than a month preparing students in grades K-12 for state-mandated tests.

Costly in other ways

Teachers also feel the effects of spending so much time preparing students for standardized tests.

Research on teacher turnover has found that teachers’ dissatisfaction with standardized testing was a key reason they left the profession.

Other research from 2026 found that teachers who worried about job consequences tied to test results reported lower job satisfaction.

These numbers tell a larger story. The costs of standardized testing do not simply appear in the amount printed on contracts with testing companies.

They are also reflected in lesson plans, teachers’ workloads, classroom time, professional autonomy and the opportunities that disappear when preparing for a test becomes a central purpose of schooling.

A test can measure learning. But when some students take as many as 88 assessments before high school and teachers report spending weeks preparing students for state exams, it’s important to ask whether it’s the best use of their limited time.

I work in Mississippi, where many communities are rural and agriculture is a major industry. Recently, I lamented to a local farmer about the time and money spent on standardized testing. He offered a simple response: “You don’t get a pig to grow by measuring it more.” His words capture the question at the heart of this debate: Does more testing help students learn, or does it take time away from learning?

Liza Bondurant does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Original source: https://analysis1.mil-osi.com/2026/10/19/students-take-up-to-88-standardized-tests-before-high-school-but-more-testing-doesnt-improve-learning/