Four organizations representing school district leaders today called for “adequate” time to manage the tricky transition to the Common Core State Standards and tests.

“Adequate” isn’t defined in the joint statement, however.

“We must make adequate time for a thoughtful conversation about how assessments can be used to provide instructionally useful information to schools in a timely manner,” say the American Association of School Administrators, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, and the National School Boards Association.

“The prudent course is to avoid over-reliance on the assessments for federal accountability purposes until the [common standards] are fully implemented, instructional materials and professional supports have been offered, schools have the technical capacity to implement the assessments, and communities are informed,” the statement says. “Failure to consider this reality will result in the test-and-punish cycle being repeated, with the same disappointing results of NCLB-era accountability.”

This comes a day after the Council of Chief State School Officers rejected calls for a moratorium on high stakes attached to the new standards, but said some flexibility during the transition years of common core implementation is needed

With the addition of these four groups, the list of organizations and leaders making recommendations on a transition period for the common standards and tests grows longer. And yet U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan still hasn’t forcefully weighed in on something that used to be a key bragging point for him and President Barack Obama.