How we arrived at the numbers

How did we arrive at that those numbers?

The Beaufort County School District provided a current test schedule, along with the average amount of time students spend taking each test.

To determine the minimum numbers, we considered only tests that every student in the district would be required to take. These include MAP, PASS and HSAP testing, for example.

The estimates do not include optional tests -- for instance, gifted-and-talented screening, the ACT or SAT, and Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate tests. Neither did we include practice tests or test-preparation classes in arriving at those numbers.

If students took every optional test available to them, they could spend about 240 hours taking about 100 examinations. And that number could be even more depending how many times a student took certain tests, like the ACT, SAT or HSAP exit exam.

This story was originally published March 29, 2014 at 9:45 PM with the headline "How we arrived at the numbers."