Too much testing and too little teaching was the concern voiced by parents inside of the Manatee County School District's boardroom on Tuesday.

  • "Teaching is an art, it’s not a science," said Chairman Kennedy
  • Manatee is reconsidering their policies on standardized tests

"What ultimately that can do is put these kids into testing fatigue, and making them test so much that when it comes to the actual big day, they’re done," said Amy Lee, a concerned parent.

Board Chairman Charlie Kennedy proposed placing a moratorium on non-state mandated testing in the county.

"Teaching is an art, it’s not a science, and every teacher knows what is best for their room and best for their students," he explained.

Specifically, Kennedy hopes to eliminate tests known as "benchmark assessments."

These tests are designed to look like the state mandated Florida Standards assessments test, and are meant to show teachers how students are doing so far. Eliminating them will cut down on hours of exams, and let the individual schools and teachers decide what students should be tested on.

"It’s all unfortunately tied up in this testing regime and this testing world that Florida schools has become," Kennedy said.

Superintendent Diana Green stands by district testing, saying the tests measure how well every student is doing along the way.

"When we get to a point where we could be actually going down the wrong road, we actually stop, and we take a benchmark and find out if what we're doing working," Green explained. "Because if it's not working, it really is not going to help us to find out at the very end."

After hearing from principals from many of the district’s schools, the school board decided it will take up the topic again at a meeting set for Feb. 27.