An important NYT op ed making the (correct) argument for annual school testing:

The idea of less testing with the same benefits is alluring. Yet in practice it would actually roll back progress for America's students.

Yes, test quality must be better than it is today. And, yes, teachers and parents have a right to be alarmed when unnecessary tests designed only for school benchmarking or teacher evaluations cut into instructional time. But annual testing has tremendous value. It lets schools follow students' progress closely, and it allows for measurement of how much students learn and grow over time, not just where they are in a single moment.

…Today's eagerness to jettison our commitment to leave "no child behind" is a shame, not just because better tests are on the horizon, but also because it worked. Fourth and eighth grade achievement scores of black, Hispanic and low-income students have never been higher. High school graduation rates are at an all-time high. And researchers repeatedly link No Child Left Behind's emphasis on traditionally underperforming groups to real improvements in schools around the country. The conversations that No Child Left Behind sparked are not easy, but they are essential.

That's why it's exactly the wrong time to accept political solutions leaving too many of our most vulnerable children hidden from view.