What is the single biggest change schools can make so that testing works better in your classroom?

 The biggest change schools can make to make testing work better is...

...to use it as an educational tool to improve learning and not as a form of punishment for teachers. Schools in inner-city neighborhoods or impoverished areas need more funding and support, not less.
Jo Bakalar, United Teachers of Dade, FL

...to reduce class size! I have 32 first grade students and am expected to give them one-on-one assessments 2 - 3 times a year.
Donna Mooney, Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, PA

...to give a pre-test at the beginning of school and give a post-test at the end of the year. Compare those tests to determine the progress of each student.
Marilyn Altenbach, Cincinnati Federation of Teachers, OH

...to involve parents/guardians in teaching their children that public education is the most valuable commodity that they will ever receive. No amount of tutoring or mentoring will replace someone at home who is drilling into the student's head that education is their responsiblity and their way out of poverty!
Kathryn Cunningham, Southwest Suburban Federation of Teachers

...to have less of it! Teachers in my school are dedicated to the kids, but are so locked into following the objectives to achieve on the next test, they don't have the opportunity (or energy) to do the things that make learning more fun and memorable.
Rosalyn Riley, Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, PA

When I first started teaching in the late 1970s, the educational system strived to produce a well-rounded, productive and happy individual. The trend now is on what a small, narrow-focused, non-education group considers important. We have minimized the importance of true life skills. We have taken creativity and stifled it and put in its place a test which concentrates on such a narrow area that society suffers in the process.
Elaine Layton, Gulf County Classroom Teachers Association, FL 

...to publish on the WEB the requirements for each level of accomplishment and lessons that parents/children/teachers can use. Tests should be included as a means of identifying areas in need of improvement. Education should be both public and free and with the Internet this is entirely possible.
Anna Spiro, Professional Staff Congress, NY

...prior to the final tests, have students do "mock tests", these tests will be quite similar to the final tests. It is hoped that these tests will ease the test anxieties that haunt some students long before the final tests. These "mock tests" should be given and graded well in advance of the final tests, in order for students to make adjustments/better preparations for the final tests.
Lyle Young, Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, MN

...to eliminate the use of a single state assessment to determine student proficiency. Measuring student progress throughout the year is a far more effective indicator of student/teacher/school performance.
Travis Burns, Cheyenne Federation of Teachers, WY

 ...to lobby for realistic testing for ESL children. I could not pass a test in Spanish, so why should we expect a Spanish speaking child to pass a test written in English.
Barbara Berkson, Great Neck Teachers Association, NY

...to leave the decisions regarding testing to the teachers. We know how to create tests that measure what we have taught, and that are tailored to our students. Uniform testing necessarily targets the lowest common denominator. As an experienced teacher I know that students are not the same from year to year. Even if I teach the same course, and cover the same curriculum, I may have to adjust the pacing or the order of presenting the topics. Let us decide when, how often, and in what format to test our own students. 
Paula Washington, United Federation of Teachers, NY

...to continuously help teachers (especially new teachers) develop and refine the teaching and classroom structure skills they need to use to deliver and monitor the delivery of, material. Having a co-teacher/mentor a minimum of weekly would make teaching, and therefore testing, better in classrooms.
Elizabeth Renwick, Baltimore Teachers Union, MD

...improvements in discipline. More and more administrators seem unwilling to admit the corelation between test scores and discipline.
Stephen Huter, Louisiana Federation of Teachers

...[to allow] us to utilize our professional judgement with informative assessments that actually guide teaching and learning. Let us show you what the children know and how much they have learned. Let's be positive and appreciate the uniqueness that each learner brings to the classroom by demonstrating how our students have developed and expanded their knowledge over time.
Anne Chobot, AFT Local 604, IL

...test less! Students do NOT need to be tested every year to assess their abilities. Millions of dollars could then be better used for smaller class sizes, materials, teachers salaries. Students get bored with testing...after a few years many just start guessing on tests. So what is the point?
Tom Liley, AFT Local 604, IL