Testing students sure has changed since I was a classroom teacher. I developed the quizzes and exams and I graded them. Was it a perfect system? Probably not, but I had ownership and responsibility to assess my students.

Over the years, as tests have become standardized, teachers have less ownership, but as much (if not more) responsibility. And these tests are given earlier and earlier. No Child Left Behind mandates annual testing from grades three to eight. Advocates say the assessment tests help the districts measure the quality of their curricula and instruction, while pinpointing students' strengths and weaknesses. Schools can then develop appropriate strategies to deal with the educational issues. Opponents of the increased emphasis on testing in the early elementary years say that it can stigmatize late bloomers, and could disproportionately affect boys, who tend to lag developmentally behind girls.

The Kalamazoo (Michigan) Gazette recently reported on tests that a typical third-grader would take during the school year: the Michigan Educational Assessment Program tests (eight hours over two weeks); the Standardized Test for Assessment of Reading (computer exam given four times annually); the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills test (quick test given three times annually); and the Otis-Lennon Ability Test (basically an IQ test). One of the parents, while reassured to receive hard data on her child's academic abilities, wondered whether too much attention was given to testing.

Many U. S. Presidents advanced K-12 educational initiatives. Kennedy had the Council

on Youth Fitness; Johnson signed legislation for the desegregation of schools, hoping to bring equal opportunity to education; Bush championed No Child Left Behind. As the Presidential Inauguration nears, I have been reading about Barack Obama's plan, Zero to Five .

Unlike other early childhood education plans, the Obama-Biden plan places key emphasis on early care and education for infants, which has been shown to be essential for children to be ready to enter kindergarten. Their plan also calls for grants to promote the move toward universal preschool, expanding Early Head Start and Head Start, and providing affordable, quality childcare.

Sounds promising. Arne Duncan, his choice for secretary of education, is the Chicago schools superintendent and a strong advocate for early intervention. He believes in paying educators as the professionals they are, and providing the tools and training they need to succeed. That is welcome news as well.