Tracy, I have to agree with you on this. I am extremely happy with our school district but there are a few things that I would love to see changed. Our district does put out great test scores overall but when the math scores were not as high as they would've liked they incorporated fast fact tests at the elementary level. Starting in 1st grade thru 5th, the students have weekly fast fact tests. The goal is to get a certain number correct within a small period of time. My dd in 2nd grade must be able to do 60(add. & Subt, separate tests) in 3 min and my dd in 5th grade must do 80(mult and div) in 3 min. My son (now in 7th) struggled all thru elementary school w/these. Math and science were/are his favorite subjects. But he could never pass these fast fact tests. He began to hate math, said he was stupid. We would sit and do flash cards, I would print out "tests" at home for him to practice. The kicker is he knew his facts, what he struggled with and continues to struggle with is the timed aspect of tests. His problem is now recognized and he is getting help at school but it took my persistance and a fantastic 5th grade teacher to do it.
Unfortunately our elementary school just provided "data" at our parents night this month to "prove" that fast fact tests are working. They have no plans to get rid of them.