Testing Resistance & Reform News: December 2 - 8, 2015

With passage of legislation to eliminate many of the worst federal test-and-punish mandates in "No Child Left Behind" and Arne Duncan's waivers extremely likely, a new FairTest fact sheet offers recommendations on how grassroots activists can transform assessment reform opportunities in the new "Every Student Succeeds Act" into state and local policy victories. To support the national testing resistance and reform movement, please consider making a year-end donation at: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/fairtest

National New Fact Sheet -- Building a Stronger, More Effective Assessment Reform Movement Under ESSA
http://fairtest.org/building-stronger-more-effective-assessment-reform

Arizona Scores From New Test Don't Tell Much
http://www.sahuaritasun.com/opinion/from-the-editor---test-results-don-t-tell/article_d0703b22-9918-11e5-8875-3f1c1ac7861e.html

California No Child Left Behind Overhaul Allows Other Jurisdictions to Follow State's Lead
http://www.latimes.com/local/education/standardized-testing/la-me-edu-no-child-left-behind-replacement-california-essa-passes-house-20151202-story.html
California Lift Kids Out of Poverty Before Expecting Test Score Rise
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-le-1201-tuesday-test-scores-20151201-story.html

Colorado New Federal Education Law Could Spur Changes to State Testing, Accountability
http://co.chalkbeat.org/2015/12/07/rewrite-of-federal-education-law-could-spur-changes-to-testing-accountability-in-colorado-down-the-road/#.Vmb4W1Jkrm4

Connecticut What Will New Federal Education Education Law Mean for Local Schools
http://ctmirror.org/2015/12/02/what-does-the-federal-education-bill-mean-for-ct-schools/

Florida Debate Over Test Cut-Off Scores Hinges on Politically Motivated Definitions
http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/debate-over-proposed-fsa-cut-scores-hinges-on-definitions/2256482

Georgia Students Lose Much From Testing Overkill
http://getschooled.blog.myajc.com/2015/12/01/georgia-teacher-who-loses-most-from-start-of-testing-this-week-my-students/

Idaho Board of Ed Moves to Postpone Smarter Balanced Grad Test Requirement
http://www.rexburgstandardjournal.com/news/education/state-board-softens-requirements-for-sbac-test/article_40a5dd70-9d0b-11e5-a931-8b3d5dc93271.html

Indiana School Leaders Tell Parents State Test Is "Complete Fiasco"
http://www.indystar.com/story/news/education/2015/12/01/school-leaders-parents-istep-complete-fiasco/76601300/
Indiana Editorial: State Test Is No Longer Useful
http://www.thestarpress.com/story/opinion/editorials/2015/12/03/istep-test-no-longer-useful/76678280/

Louisiana State Will Not Punish Schools With High Opt-Out Rates
http://theadvocate.com/news/14158718-123/bese-approves-policy-to-not
Louisiana Teaching Beyond The Test
http://wwno.org/post/teaching-tough-topics-teaching-beyond-test

Maine Last Year's Test Scores Were "Worthless," Says Super
http://www.sunjournal.com/news/lewiston-auburn/2015/12/04/lewiston-superintendent-last-years-test-scores-worthless/1830742

Maryland Data Obsession Hurts Teaching and Learning
http://www.capitalgazette.com/opinion/columns/ph-ac-ce-procaccini-column-1205-20151205-story.html

Michigan Don't Read Too Much Into Test Scores
http://www.petoskeynews.com/news/opinion/our-view-don-t-read-too-much-into-test-scores/article_ee133f75-c82b-5a0d-9e13-88f0c9248ed7.html

Nevada State to Receive $990,000 Rebated from Test-Maker for Flawed Exam Administration
http://www.rgj.com/story/news/local/mason-valley/2015/12/06/state-receive-rebate-test-maker/76810226/

New Jersey State Stalls on Confirming High Opt-Out Numbers
http://www.nj.com/education/2015/12/parcc_results_will_nj_say_how_many_students_opted.html
No Financial Punishment for PARCC Opt-Out Now State Law
http://localtalknews.com/state/government/2288-local-parcc-opt-out-bill-now-state-law.html

New Mexico Court Suspends Teacher Penalties Based on Student Scores
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/education/judge-suspends-penalties-linked-to-state-s-teacher-eval-system/article_996845bd-d321-5849-86af-1c27e9356a44.html

New York Assessment Reformers Survey Finds Opposition to Common Core Based Tests and Teacher Evaluation
http://www.nysape.org/nysape-cc-survey-results.html
New York Study Shows "Fixed Costs" Double Times Spent on Standardized Tests
http://wskgnews.org/post/study-fixed-costs-double-time-spent-standardized-tests#stream/0
New York Common Core Algebra Test Becoming a Barrier to Graduation
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2015/12/common-core_algebra_a_barrier_to_graduation_new_york.html

North Carolina New Federal Education Law Could Mean Changes for Local Schools
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article48526845.html

Ohio Study Shows Strong Tie Between Student Poverty and Test Scores
http://www.ohio.com/news/break-news/analysis-ohio-test-scores-poverty-continue-to-be-tied-1.644752
Ohio PARCC Score Delay Means School Report Cards Rely on Some Year-Old Data
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/12/parcc_delays_mean_ohios_state_report_cards_will_have_some_year-old_test_results.html

Oklahoma What The End of "No Child Left Behind" Means for Local Schools
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/education/what-the-end-of-the-federal-no-child-left-behind/article_d4946251-4f9f-52ba-93c3-107d56caa7c6.html

Oregon Portland Schools Will Add "Disclaimer" to Biased State Opt-Out Form
http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2015/12/portland_schools_to_add_discla.html
Oregon Standardized Tests Teach Kids The Wrong Lesson
http://registerguard.com/rg/opinion/33810600-78/standardized-tests-teach-kids-the-wrong-lesson.html.csp

Pennsylvania Should Abandon Test-Driven System for Evaluating Schools
http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2015/12/06/Pennsylvania-should-change-the-way-it-judges-schools/stories/201511290018

Rhode Island More Students Refused to Take State Test Than Previously Reported
http://ripr.org/post/ride-adjusts-participation-numbers-parcc-testing
Rhode Island No Need for Panic Over Test Scores
http://www.providencejournal.com/article/20151205/OPINION/151209606

South Carolina Requiring ACT Is Not a Good Measure of Student Success
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/opinion/contributors/2015/12/07/act-isnt-good-measure-success/76678402/

Tennessee Nashville Schools Sued for Pulling Students From Classes to Boost Score Averages
http://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/metro-schools-face-lawsuit-over-testing-practices
Tennessee Petition Campaign Seeks to Exclude Student Test Scores From Teacher Evaluation
http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2015/12/07/petition-exclude-test-scores-teacher-evaluations-year/76933218/
Tennessee Students Not Ready for More Computerized Tests
http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Blog/2015/12/06/Are-Tennessee-students-ready-to-take-the-tests.html

Texas Testing System Hampers Critical Thinking and Writing
http://kdhnews.com/news/education/some-educators-students-say-system-hampers-critical-thinking-and-writing/article_3ef87e2c-9bc8-11e5-83f8-3768fc8e5ac3.html

Wyoming Task Force Recommends Dropping Mandatory ACT Exam for Juniors
http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/task-force-recommends-wyoming-make-act-optional-for-juniors/article_ed8e9a67-6749-5c5d-a4f0-6451085a54e6.html

Claim That U.S. Student Are Not Over-Tested is Spurious
http://zhaolearning.com/2015/12/07/are-american-students-over-tested-schleicher-vs-schleicher/

To Assess What Tests Can't, Some Schools Turn to Other Measures
http://iowapublicradio.org/post/measure-what-tests-cant-some-schools-turn-surveys#stream/0

Book Review: Testing Is Sucking the Life Out of Public Schools
http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/testing-is-ruining-our-public-schools-says-the-author-20151206

Webinar: Alternative School Accountability Measures for Schools and Communities
http://knowledgecenter.csg.org/kc/content/school-accountability-measures-states-and-communities

"The Perfect Storm of High-Stakes Education Reform: High-Stakes Testing and Teacher Evaluation"
http://www.socialjusticejournal.org/archive/139_42_1/139_05_Croft_Roberts_Stenhouse.pdf