Test Scores Tell You Who Your Child Beat, Not What Your Child Knows
Akil Bello takes issue with the assumptions, framing and research underlying the Hechinger Report article blaming parents for trusting report cards more than standardized test scores, “with consequences for kids”. Why would parents trust test scores? And while there is an underlying assumption made that grades lie, there is no interrogation of the test score […]
Overwhelming Majority of Schools Remain Test Optional or Test Free for Fall 2026 Admission
https://fairtest.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Fall-2026-test-Optional-Press-Release-9_25.docx.pdf
FairTest In National Media On College Admissions and Access Under the Trump Education Department
Executive Director Harry Feder participated in the discussion of the impact on testing on college admissions and the implications of the Trump Administration’s GPA, test score, race and gender data disclosure requirements on testing policies and the college population in The New York Times and Washington Post.
The Changing Graduation Landscape: Portraits and Pathways
States and districts are increasingly moving towards defining the characteristics they want to see in high school graduates in ways that capture readiness for citizenship, employment and social relations in the modern world. The development of Portraits of a Graduate at the state and local level, including examples and challenges is discussed in our report, […]
What’s Behind College Admission and Navigating The Admissions Process
Akil Bello, FairTest Senior Director for Advocacy, breaks down the different institutional philosophies that drive college admissions and what it means for students and parents navigating the system in this highly informative podcast and article. He also puts in context recent decisions by some highly rejective colleges to reinstate testing requirements, calling out the “following […]
FairTest Comments on Harvard Decision to Reinstate Testing Requirement
Here’s our press release: https://fairtest.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Harvard.docx.pdf Also here in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/11/us/harvard-test-scores-admissions.html?searchResultPosition=1
Summary of State Graduation Requirements (2025)
State graduation requirements around the country can be summarized as follows:
OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF U.S. COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES REMAIN ACT/SAT OPTIONAL OR TEST-BLIND/SCORE-FREE FOR FALL 2025
for further information: Harry Feder, Esq. 917 273-8939 Bob Schaeffer 239 699-0468 for immediate release, Wednesday, February 21, 2024OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF U.S. COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES REMAIN ACT/SAT-OPTIONAL OR TEST-BLIND/SCORE-FREE FOR FALL 2025; More than 80% of U.S. four-year colleges and universities will not require applicants for fall 2025 admissions to submit ACT/SAT scores according to a new tally […]
The Misguided War on Test Optional
Akil Bello calls out the backlash against test optional policies in the New York Times for what it is–a misguided campaign to preserve the veneer of elitism at Ivy Plus institutions through a gatekeeping mechanism that overwhelmingly favors wealth and privilege by those who bask in that status. https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2024/02/05/misguided-war-test-optional-opinion
Innovative Educational Assessments that Support Deeper Learning
FairTest explores efforts at the state and local level to assess student learning in more educationally beneficial and equitable ways other than federally and state mandated standardized tests. There are robust examples of systems of authentic assessments that can be used as models for spurring deeper learning. https://fairtest.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/PBA-Advocacy-Document.docx.pdf