The new school year is shaping up to be a pivotal period for the assessment reform movement. Already, a spate of stories have appeared documenting new policies that roll back some of the worst cases of testing overkill. And there’s much more coverage of the damage being done to educational quality and equity by the fixation on standardized exams.
National Flawed Computer Algorithms Are Grading Millions of Students Essay Exams
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pa7dj9/flawed-algorithms-are-grading-millions-of-students-essays
Arizona Doubts Mount About Standardized Testing
https://www.paysonroundup.com/news/education/doubts-mount-about-standardized-testing/article_d84a2de2-0ed6-5ebd-8ee4-3f5d6b329524.html
Florida Students to See Less Testing This Year
https://www.tampabay.com/news/gradebook/2019/08/12/pasco-elementary-school-students-to-see-less-testing/
Hawaii Hot, Humid Classrooms Undermine Student Achievement
https://www.westhawaiitoday.com/2019/08/19/opinion/letters-to-the-editor-08-19-19/
Idaho Proposal to Make Test Scores the Sole “Accountability” Measure Is the Square Root of Stupid
https://www.idahoednews.org/voices/square-root-of-stupid-task-force-proposal-making-iri-scores-all-that-matters/
Illinois Good Bye to Basic Skills Test, a Major Barrier to Teachers of Color
https://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/chicago/2019/08/08/illinois-says-goodbye-to-the-basic-skills-test-long-a-barrier-for-teacher-candidates-of-color/
Kentucky Administrator Was Involved in Test Cheating
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2019/08/19/superintendent-newport-official-involved-cheating-later-became-principal/2019424001/
Mississippi History Test May Be Dropped Under Pressure From Educators
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/mississippi/articles/2019-08-13/mississippi-could-drop-high-school-history-exam
New Jersey Draft Teacher Contract Ends Test-Driven Performance Pay
https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/19/08/14/new-contract-will-raise-salaries-of-newark-teachers-end-performance-pay/
New York City Council Members Seek End of Exam-Driven Selective Admissions
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/ny-education-diversity-admissions-20190813-yrzb7zwignfablhwzxzy5wdwla-story.html
Ohio Lawsuit Says School Retaliated Against Teacher Who Reported Test Cheating
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2019/08/15/newport-schools-cheated-map-tests-retaliated-against-employee/1990528001/
Texas Low-Income District Takeovers Threatened in Wake of Test-Based School Grades
https://www.texastribune.org/2019/08/15/texas-schools-grades-accountability/
Virginia Test Scores Plunged After Cheating Scandal Exposed
https://www.richmond.com/news/local/education/city-of-richmond/after-cheating-scandal-new-sol-test-scores-paint-a-bleak/article_57e7451c-89c8-5499-95bd-39bef9f0c0f1.html
University Admissions Is Time Up for ACT and SAT?
https://www.educationdive.com/news/is-time-up-on-standardized-tests-for-college-admissions/560829/
Worth Reading Racial Justice and Standardized Testing
https://www.rethinkingschools.org/articles/racial-justice-is-not-a-choice
Worth Reading Testing Fixation Squeezes Out Time for Educationally Valuable Field Trips
https://www.aei.org/publication/the-research-based-case-for-field-trips/
Bob Schaeffer, Public Education Director
FairTest: National Center for Fair & Open Testing
office- (239) 395-6773 mobile- (239) 699-0468
web- http://www.fairtest.org