The National Education Association answers many questions about cost on their web site and tells us about "Real Accountability with Real Results".

Q. How much do tests currently cost?

A. According to the American Educational Research Association, total annual spending for K-12 tests among the 50 states has nearly doubled in the past four years, from $165 million in 1996 to $330 million in 2000.

Q. How much would an ideal testing program cost, and at what cost to other programs?

A. Even though they have been shown to produce the largest gains in student achievement, few states have invested in assessments that use student portfolios or more involved projects, beyond simplistic multiple-choice exams. Portfolio tests were much more time-consuming and costly than off-the-shelf, norm-referenced exams. In Iowa, for example, the cost of administering the fill-in-the-bubble Iowa Tests of Basic Skills is 93 cents per student. (Quality Counts 2001, www.edweek.com) The skills demanded on the portfolio exams have valuable real-life applications, such as communicating thoughts in writing, graphing and interpreting data, and synthesizing information. Unfortunately, few states have found them worth the investment.

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