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With stories from 20 states in just the past week, it's clear that controversies around school testing policies are not abating. Grassroots pressure from parents, students, educators, and community leaders is forcing some policymakers to back off from failed test-and-punish policies. The summer academic break is a great time to build even stronger assessment reform campaigns for the fall.

Alabama School Reevaluate Testing Definition of Readiness
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Responding to grassroots pressure from parents, educators, and community leaders more state policymakers are agreeing to reduce the time students are required to spend taking superfluous standardized exams. But there's still a long way to go to achieve meaningful assessment reform in most jurisditions. Keep the pressure on over the summer!

Intense controversies over testing continue at the state and local levels.  Many legislatures and school boards are responding to the demands of grassroots assessment reformers by eliminating some standardized exams and reducing the stakes attached to their scores.

Across the country, the academic year is winding down. Many school districts have already closed for the summer. Yet, testing controversies remain as intense as ever with advocates for fewer standardized exams and lower stakes winning more victories.  Remember that assessment reform allies can sign up to receive these free weekly news updates by clicking on:

FairTest collaborated 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 easily be adapted for use by parent, student and community groups. 

As the school year wraps up in many parts of the country, the assessment reform movement is simultaneously focused on the semester's final round of standardized exams and on how state plans under the Every Student Succeeds Act will change testing in the future.  

Assessment reform proposals continue to move forward in many state legislatures as grassroots pressure from parents, educators and community leaders forces policy makers to reconsider standardized exam overkill.

From state after state, there are encouraging reports of progress toward curbing standardized exam overkill and creating opportunities for alternative assessments and accountability systems. As always, grassroots activism -- via opt-out campaigns, lobbying, public education, etc. -- is the key to pressuring policy makers to adopt genuine reforms. 

With stories from 20 states, this week's news clips demonstrate the breadth and depth of the grassroots assessment reform movement. Effective advocacy by parents, students, educators and community leaders across the nation is pressuring more and more policy makers to cut back testing overuse and misuse, creating space for better systems of assessment. 

As peak school testing season nears in many states, grassroots activists are winning more and more victories against standardized exam overuse and misuse.  Parents, educators, community leaders and their allies need to keep pressure on policy makers to curb testing overkill and create more space for performance assessments.