My Tests vs. Standardized Tests - Parent's Challenge

I'm not sure what's being criticized here: the amount of time given or the content of my tests vs. the state tests. I justify the amount of time I spend on tests because assessment is a vital aspect of any class's curriculum. At its basic level, it holds the students accountable for the material being learned. At a deeper level, it strengthens the skills that go along with test taking. A serious concern in my school district is the absence of midterms or finals. The common complaint I have with this is that we are not teaching our students to EVER sit for a test. When a student goes in for the first time for that HSPA test in March, and sits for 3+ hours for the test, that is a shock. Just the feeling of sitting for three hours and testing is a shock, let alone the feeling of actually testing. Whenever possible, I have my students write for the entire period; usually about once every two weeks, if time allows. I do this to not only test the certain writing skills I'm working on, but also to get used to sitting for that time and testing. You'd be surprised (or maybe you wouldn't) at how so many of my students can't sit for that amount of time...we're talking 40 minutes here! What happens when they get to 3 hours? Or even 4+ hours on the SAT! My respone to any parent who would challenge this time I spend on writing would be shown the data and evidence of their child's writing and to show that this is not time wasted, but time NEEDED.

My second argument, if the challenge happens to be content based, would be that I model my tests on the HSPAs and SATs. We have a big push in our school for higher SAT scores (real original, right?) so the way I try to incorporate more SAT info in my curriculum is to model my writing assignments on the SAT writing assignments; for example, every week, my students have to write on a quote that I put on the board; this comes from the new SAT writing section, which allows 25 minutes for students to write on a quote that the SAT provides...they have to prove it true or false, and explain reasons why. This should be at least a three paragraph response. By doing this, I'm attempting to help the students become more familiar with the testing material so when it does appear in front of them on a Saturday morning, the fear and trepidation will give way to familiarity and comfort.