Standardized testing in the Tucson Unified School District will be reduced by half for grades 2 through 8 and by one-third for high school students after the Governing Board and the educators’ union — the Tucson Education Association — reached an agreement last week.
A memorandum of understanding between the groups says they agree that second- through eighth-grade students will take three iReady (math and reading) diagnostic tests per year as mandated by the state and high schoolers will take two ACT mimic (practice) tests rather than three.
For the 40,000 students in Southern Arizona’s largest school district, fewer tests means less stress, more teaching days, and more focused learning, teachers say…