Testing: Is it the Only Way to Evaluate Students? About ten percent of【C1】______(spend) on primary and secondary education in the United States comes from the federal government. For ten years now, federal law has tied this cost to student【C2】______(perform). States have been required to show progress through【C3】______(year) testing. States say testing tells only part of the story about efforts by schools and students to improve. So the Obama administration has eased the limits on states in【C4】______(measure) performance. The western state of Colorado, for example, has a new【C5】______(assess) method. The idea is to show【C6】______(academy) growth, not just achievement on tests. It combines test scores, family income levels, school size, the ethnicity of the student and many other factors. Josh Smith is principal of a middle school in a network of public charter schools【C7】______(call) West Denver Prep. Charter schools are publicly funded but not operated the same as【C8】______(tradition) public schools. Mr. Smith says he likes to show his students this graph so they can see their school's progress. On average, students enter sixth grade at West Denver Prep【C9】______(perform) below grade level.【C10】______(strange) enough, most are outperforming other students across the state three years later.