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Not surprisingly, the huge, national college admissions scandal -- with a major testing component -- dominated this week's education news.  The fact that so many other stories about standardized exams also appeared attests to the power of parents, educators and activists in making assessment reform a powerful issue.

Florida Students Get More Time for Test Prep, Not Learning

Between expensive test prep, pricey advisors, unethical, and, in this case, downright illegal behavior, ACT and SAT scores are easily “gamed” by those with financial means. To reduce the unfair advantage that people with abundant resources have in our test-reliant admissions system, FairTest leads the national movement for test-optional admissions policies. Today more than 1,000 colleges and universities have test-optional policies that evaluate an applicant's entire portfolio.

FairTest is part of a new Massachusetts coalition with a simple message: It's time for Governor Charlie Baker and the state legislature to make it their number one priority to reinvest $1.5 billion a year in public education, from pre-K through college, with the funding increase not attached to any additional testing.

Our public education system is a key part of what makes Massachusetts a great place to live and work. But testing overkill, combined with austerity school funding, has undermined our schools and our quality of life.

for further information, contact

Andre Green       617 201-9512

or Bob Schaeffer 239 395-6773

for immediate release, Monday, July 23, 2018

ANDRE GREEN TO BE NEW FAIRTEST EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

WHEN DR. MONTY NEILL RETIRES THIS SUMMER

The Nationa

for further information, contact:

Bob Schaeffer(239) 395-6773                                         

            mobile  (239) 699-0468

for immediate release Wednesday, January 10, 2018

As 2017 comes to a close, your contribution to FairTest will help accelerate the current surge of assessment reform victories. Just look at the list of wins so far in 2017:

PLEASE JOIN FAIRTEST IN HONORING

John H. Jackson and Barbara Madeloni

PRESENTATION OF

THE DEBORAH W. MEIER “HERO IN EDUCATION” AWARD

Thursday, October 26, 2017, 5:45 – 8:30 PM

First Parish Unitarian Universalist, 3 Church St., Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA

FairTest worked with the National Coalition of Urban Education Associations (NCUEA) Time on Learning Committee to develop a survey that teacher unions can use with their members to expose the consequences of high-stakes testing. It can be adapted for use by parent, student and community groups.

The survey is available at https://www.jotform.com/form-templates/2017-time-to-learn-survey.

New and Updated Fact Sheets:

Here are new and updated tools that parents, teachers, students and their allies can use to battle the overuse and misuse of standardized tests.