I home school my kids...?

I completely understand where you are coming from about this testing at the end of the grade. I teach 4th grade and am so disillusioned with the whole system, I am thinking about a career change. If you are confident in your daughter's reading comprehension skills, then she may just not be a good "test-taker". It is common, especially with 3rd graders, to see a low score when they are not used to test-taking. It wouldn't do any good to write a letter regarding the testing due to the national legislation - No Child Left Behind. Every state now has gateway grades where children can be held back based on test scores. Another issue is that the way teachers typically grade is not alligned with what or how students are essed. Some changes definitely need to be made in this area so parents understand how a child can p a subject and still fail a standardized test. Teachers take into account effort, improvement, participation, etc and tests do not.