A four hour practice test for 3rd graders

• The SAT is 3 hours and 45 minutes long.
• The ACT including essay is 3 hours and 45 minutes long.
• The LSAT is 3 hours and 30 minutes.
• The GRE is 3 hours and 45 minutes long.

Minnesota's OLPA, the optional local purpose assessment is a version of the MCA II that districts can offer twice a year to students grades 3-8, is between 3 and 4 hours long for the reading portion and up to 2 hours long for math. 

And this is just the practice test. 

Good grief. Perhaps we will see some of this in Minnesota?

Comments

[Marcia Rhinehart]

I miss the days when we used to teach readin, riting, & rithmatic...not saying I want to go back to the one-room school days, but I think we have lost the true meaning of education when we seem to think that we have to teach for the test. What happened to encouraging curiosity in our students where they can find information on something they are passionate about. Students are not just a number on a chart...they are living, breathing human beings and we need to help them grow intellectually through this curiosity to become productive members or our global world. It is so sad that our students can't always compete on the same level as students from other countries.

Just a thought...I'll get off my soap box now.

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Marcia,

I don't think these long standardized tests are being given because any teacher wants them. You are not alone in feeling the way you do. So how do we change this?

Doug