Dive Brief:

• The American Federation of Teachers has released a joint statement with the Center for American Progress outlining the two organizations' stance on standardized testing. 
• The union, which represents educators in large urban districts, says it wants to see testing continue so parents can have valid information on students, but it wants to discontinue testing tied to teacher evaluations.
• The statement comes in response to growing talks about testing in America and whether or not the Republican proposal reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind will eradicate federally mandated annual testing.

Dive Insight:

The AFT doesn't exactly stick to the status quo — it recommends grade-span testing, which would see students tested once in grades 3 to 5, again only once in grades 6 though 8, and a final time in high school — but some are arguing that its plan does very little to break away from the norm, as it maintains a reliance on standardized testing and a very narrow view of student achievement.

That said, the AFT isn't alone —​ the National Education Association, the nation's largest teacher union, also backs grade-span testing.

“More data doesn’t necessarily mean better data, and it doesn’t ensure that data is being used to actually help improve learning,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said. “Annual tests, if they are reliable and diagnostic, provide important information for students, parents, teachers and schools. In my experience, struggling schools want to do the right thing and improve, but they need supports not sanctions."