I posted this story last night but for some reason, I didn’t get the link right.
I think I have it now. Here it is.
The ten hours is the time projected for the Common Core tests developed by PARCC, one of the two testing consortia funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
It does not include time spent on interim assessments or test prep.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
It would be interesting to compare this time to the time for the Bar exam, Nursing Boards, and other high-level professional certification exams. The S.A.T.s are under 4 hours!
That’s 8-10 hours per test, right? So the ELA and math tests will take 16-20 hours combined.
And double time for special-needs and ESL students who need extended time and/or accommodations? That’s obscene.
Will my kids be able to practice law or perform surgery after passing? Many states bar exams are about 2 days 6 hours a day – 12 hours
Down in parts of Maryland, testing coordinators have been told that it is recommended that there be a 1:1 student/computer ratio based upon the largest tested grade. Also, that schools should have two computer labs. These labs would probably end up being closed from March through May fro testing.
No instructional use.
That link requires and Education Week subscription. Here’s the link to the PARCC “Administrative Guidance” document.
Click to access PARCC%20Assessment%20Administration%20Guidance_FINAL_0.pdf
Appendix A of this document, “Estimated Time on Task by Grade and Session,” details the number of hours per assessment.
So, for grade 11, the PARCC Summative Assessments will take an estimated total of 9 hours, 55 minutes for ELA/Literacy AND Math. There will be two types of summative assessment, a performance-based component and an end-of-year component. The performance-based component will take 345 minutes for ELA and Math, on average, and the EOY component 250 minutes for ELA and Math.
USMLE Step I medical licensing exam is 8 hours, but high school juniors, except those at elite private schools, will sit for a nearly 10 hours? That is insane.
http://sbac.portal.airast.org/Practice_Test/default.html
Here is a link to a sample SBAC my district made available. It looks daunting.
It’s all about using numbers no matter how flawed to exert control. In business, the guy pushing the most crooked insurance makes the most for the comapny–even if in the long run he burns out or sales go down from the scamming; however, the company still makes a profit in the intergnum and a new sucker will replace the former employee. School doesn’t work that way. It takes planning and non-profitable input.
Texas’ STAAR tests set off a panic among administrators last year because they were “only” going to be 4 hours long each for a total of 20 hours. The prior state test, TAKS, was untimed and kids were often trained to take a nap and start again. Snacks and water were provided for all and those going into the evening would get a dinner break and soldier on. Every year that I can remember a kid and test administrator would be testing until 7 or 8 PM.
Journalist Jason Stanford-MSNBC, Huffington Post, etc.-began a Twitter series called “Fun Facts” of time comparisons between STAAR’s 4 hours and various College Board times:
STAAR is 15 minutes longer than the SAT, 60 more than AP Statistics, 55 more than AP Chem, 45 more than AP English, 55 more than AP US, 110 more than AP Econ, 55 more than AP World, and 95 more than AP Human Geography.
I recently took a field test for Pearson that NY state is implementing for education majors next year. The literacy part was incredibly difficult. I cannot imagine what these tests will be like for kids…
Did they pay you for your time? If not, hello sucker!! (not personally aimed at you, stevemcf99)