We tallied the number of hours of mandatory testing in every grade in area schools, but there were several tests that lots of students take that were left out that can add significantly to the totals.
In high school, most Maryland students take at least one or more Advanced Placement tests. While no one is complaining about those tests, they are high stakes. A student's score on the tests can make a difference in college admissions.
There's also the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment, a new state test that has kicked up some frustration on the part of teachers in the past several months.
We haven't included this test in the total number of testing hours because the state says it can't predict how much time it will take for teachers to give the test. State officials say teachers can administer it by watching a student or groups of students interact while working on a specific task.
But teachers and school administrators are reporting back that they are spending 45 minutes or an hour giving the test and another hour putting the data into the computer.
The assessment, which looks at everything from a student's social skills to whether they are ready to learn to read, is likely to get a lot of attention when the results are in.
liz.bowie@baltsun.com