5/20/03 -- A study by the U.S. General Accounting Office estimates that the testing requirements in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act will cost states about $1.9 billion between 2002 and 2008 -- if states use tests that only contain easy-to-score multiple choice tests.
But if all states use a combination of multiple-choice and open-ended questions, such as essays that are hand scored, the cost will be about $5.3 billion, states the May 8 report. And if states keep the mix of question types they reported to GAO, the cost will be about $3.9 billion.
NCLB requires states to test all students annually in grades 3 through 8 in mathematics and reading or language arts and at least once in one of the high school grades by the 2005-06 school year. It also requires states to test students in science at least once in elementary, middle, and high school by 2007-08.
NSBA Executive Director Anne L. Bryant says, "While the report is based on survey estimates from participating states, the results may change since many states have not yet tied down the specifics of their assessment instruments."
"There are so many factors influencing cost that are unique to each state," Bryant says. "The GAO findings -- based on the calculation of averages and assumptions regarding design, development, validation and reliability time lines, administration, scoring, and reporting of results that may not be totally accurate -- offer a benchmark on which to measure, but should not be interpreted to mean that there will not be shortfalls within specific states."
To estimate states' spending on testing, GAO reviewed the expenditures of seven states that had already implemented the assessments required by NCLB. These states are Colorado, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.
GAO analysts projected state expenditures for test development, administration, scoring, and reporting results for both assessments that states already have in place and those they need to develop.
They did not, however, take into account the costs for alternate assessments for students with disabilities, the costs of English language proficiency testing, expenditures for personnel, or costs incurred by local school districts.
As a result, Bryant says, "Assessment costs may represent only the tip of the iceberg."
An analysis of 10 states' costs for complying with all of the NCLB mandates shows that "we would need at least $84.5 billion if we are to make a realistic effort to leave no child behind," reports William J. Mathis, superintendent of the Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union School District in Brandon, Vt., in the April issue of Phi Delta Kappan.
NCLB allows states to use statewide assessments, local assessments, or both. States can develop their own tests or augment commercially available tests with their own questions to make sure they measure what is taught in school. They cannot use off-the-shelf tests that are not customized.
According to the GAO, Iowa is the only state using local assessments. Only four states -- Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania -- use a combination of state and local assessments.
Thirty-six states use a combination of multiple-choice and open-ended questions, and 12 states use only multiple-choice questions.
Multiple-choice questions can be machine-scored, while open-ended questions require hand scoring, which is more time and labor intensive, and therefore, more expensive.
According to the GAO report, about a quarter of the states offer their assessments in a language other than English, mostly Spanish. New York and Minnesota, however, offer their assessments in as many as four languages in addition to English.
The report says states vary in the number of additional tests they will need to develop to comply with NCLB. Thirty-two states will need to develop or augment nine or fewer tests, and 20 states will need to develop or augment 10 or more.
Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) says the GAO study shows that "Congress is providing more than enough money for states to meet the annual testing requirements in the NCLB Act, and education reform opponents have significantly exaggerated the actual cost."
Congress authorized $2.34 billion for state testing for 2002 through 2008. Congress appropriated $771.5 million for states to design and implement their tests, and President Bush has requested an additional $390 million for fiscal 2004.
Among the other organizations that have estimated the cost of testing mandated by NCLB is the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE), which put the cost at between $2.7 billion and $7 billion.
NASBE issued a statement in response to the GAO report saying: "The GAO figures are comparable with NASBE's estimates. . . . Unlike the GAO, NASBE's estimates included the costs of alternate tests for students with disabilities and for the foreign language translations for limited-English-proficient students."
The GAO report "may have opened up an even more contentious issue," NASBE says. Noting that NCLB says states do not have to "incur any costs not paid for under this act," states may choose to opt out of certain expensive provisions of NCLB.
According to NASBE, "The GAO findings might be useful in bolstering such an argument that the federal government, at least when it comes to testing, is not providing sufficient resources to pay for the reforms."
"Without a doubt, additional resources will be needed," Bryant says. "Hopefully, the U.S. Congress will keep good on its promise, and the states and local school districts will not be shortchanged."
"Local school board members continue to be committed to the goals of NCLB," Bryant says. NSBA encourages Congress, state legislatures, and local community leaders "to become more fully engaged with their schools to ensure that all children have access to educational programs of the highest quality."