Old Topic, New Interest (?) in Timed Tests

This excellent article from TeacherMagazine.com became a premium article in Education Week Teacher.  Now with a larger audience, perhaps this important topic an be addressed seriously.  In our current system, only students IEPs or 504 programs are allowed extra time in taking standardized tests.  Why should students have to go through M-team evaluations before being allowed more time in testing.  Educators know that time is a false metric so why do we allow this to continue to happen?
Maybe, maybe this topic will get the headlines it deserves and in the current environment of new test creation, the matter can be dealt with fairly.  Amen!
        As you can tell, I am convinced that timed tests do not offer a reliable way to assess student understanding of a topic.  I do agree, however, that some skills do need timed tests to achieve automaticity....prime examples: basic math facts or basic sight words.  What are your feelings about this topic?  More importantly, if you agree, how do you think timed testing could be permanently dropped in student assesments? 
Please share your thoughts.

Off the Clock:  Giving Students More Time to Demonstrate Learning.  Kyle Redford. Education Week Teacher - premium article courtesy of TeacherMagazine.com
http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2012/10/30/fp_redford_time.html?tkn=LRCFk6ssIGZ72TeypHQyZHd90J6cq3QYe2wY&cmp=clp-sb-ascd

Save K-12 Education? - Paradigm shift needed!

Here's a courageous article challenging the very nature of our school system.  Author, Nancy Self calls for a complete paradigm shift to save K-12 education.  Nancy Self  ends the article by saying, "Today, we are killing the spirit of learning in our students by trying to make them all fit one prescribed rate of learning." She has good ideas but to me they are in the "dream" category  How do you feel?  Are you ideas doable in today's environment?

Total Paradigm Shift Needed to Save K-12 Education in the United States.  Nancy Self.  7.5.12 ASCD Express.
http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol7/720-newvoices.aspx

American Schools - End of Average - Part II

You've heard that American students aren't what they used to be.  You've heard the cry to improve.  But how seriously do we really believe this? Read Friedman's 2nd article on the subject for a big wake-up call!
 Friedman quotes author Adam Davidson in a not so funny joke…

" The average mill has only two employees today - a man and a dog.  The man is there to feed the dog, and the dog is there to keep the man away from the machines." 

Friedman's solution…passing some kind of a G.I. bill so that every American can access post-high school education.  What do you think?

Average is Over, Part I.  Thomas Friedman. 1.23.12 New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/08/opinion/friedman-average-is-over-part-ii-.html

American Schools - End of Average - Part 1

Noted columnist Thomas Friedman talks about quantum advances in globalization and information technology which are replacing labor with machines or foreign workers.  Scary, but true!  What to do?  Friedman quotes author Adam Davidson in a not so funny joke…" The average mill has only two employees today - a man and a dog.  The man is there to feed the dog, and the dog is there to keep the man away from the machines."  Friedman's solution…passing some kind of a G.I. bill so that every American can access post-high school education.  What do you think?

Average is Over, Part I.  Thomas Friedman. 1.23.12 New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/25/opinion/friedman-average-is-over.html