A misguided push for tests Times Union Editorial Board FacebookTwitterEmail Bored schoolboy from online classes. Back to school. Tired of homework. Education and back to school conceptsgolibtolibov, Contributor / Getty Images/iStockphoto THE ISSUE: THE STAKES: In the midst of a pandemic, they will divert resources and serve little if any useful purpose. ---- Sure, the U.S. Department of Education can force New York's public schools to give kids standardized assessment tests this year. Administrators can squeeze some data out of them and feel like they’re doing something, being accountable, seeing “how far kids have come” or “how far they’ve fallen.”