$33 Million a year for standardized testing in Washington

Cost of Standardized Student Assessments

There remains a great deal of disagreement as to the advisability of using student test scores to evaluate educators.  But little is said in those discussions about the cost involved.

A recently released research study (State Spending on K-12 Assessment Systems) from the Brown Center on Education Policy of the Brookings Institute reports on those cost factors.  From this report we learn that Washington state ranks seventh in the nation for per pupil overall assessment costs.  We also learn that from 2009-2012, Washington state spent $33,093,724 annually on student standardized assessment.  Washington state’s primary contractor for standardized student assessments is Data Recognition Corp, which charges $39 @ pupil in a market where $27 @ pupil is the national average.   Only one other contractor charges more per pupil than DRC.