Author: FairTest

U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has laid down a direct challenge to assessment reformers around the nation. She says states should plan to administer standardized tests to all students next spring, despite the ongoing pandemic. Grassroots organizers need to fight back by getting local and state policy makers to press for extending federal waivers through […]

Thanks to everyone who has responded so far to FairTest’s 35th anniversary fundraising request, especially for the many positive comments about the value of our assessment reform initiatives such as these weekly news updates. If you did not have the opportunity to contribute (we know there was a technical problem with the “button” in some […]

Election Season 2020 is well underway —November 3is just 10 weeks off! There is no better time for parents, educators and activists to get policymakers to pay attention to your assessment reform agenda. Polls show that educational issues are huge in this cycle. This is a great opportunity to press candidates to suspend federal and […]

With more public schools planning to re-open in the next few weeks, either on-line or in-person, the debate over whether students should face mandatory standardized exams in the coming year is escalating. Make sure your local elected officials know where you stand. K-12 education policymakers should follow the lead of higher education — almost 65% […]

The debate over whether students, teachers, and schools should face annual testing mandates — if classrooms reopen in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic — is escalating. At both the federal and state levels, policymakers need to hear from their constituents — particularly public education stakeholders — about the need to continue standardized exam waivers […]

In the midst of an uncontrolled pandemic, it makes no sense to force schools to administer standardized exam to K-12 students or college applicants. You can help give FairTest the muscle to continue leading effective, campaigns for public school test suspensions and ACT/SAT-optional admissions policies. Contribute today to keep winning assessment reform victories! Click here: […]

The test-and-punish customary suspects are circling the wagons in an attempt to pre-empt widespread waivers of standardized exam mandates for the upcoming school year (if and when it begins). Their fallback position is accepting waivers of test-related consequences, but still relying on scores to “track achievement.” Real assessment reformers recognize that this approach is designed […]

As schools plan to re-open this fall or winter, at least in some form, two states, Georgia and Michigan, have already requested waivers from federal testing requirements for the 2020-2021 academic year. Make sure your state becomes part of the rapidly growing assessment reform movement — contact FairTest for model proposals and strategic guidance. GeorgiaState […]

Two steps forward, one step back. At the same time assessment reform activists are pressing to have standardized exams waived for the upcoming school year — if classes even resume this fall — the test-and-punish crowd is pushing to restore previous requirements . . . and then some! Because testing is primarily a political policy, […]

The movement to suspend standardized testing requirements at least for the 2020-2021 academic year is growing rapidly at both the K-12 and college admissions levels. Now is the time for activists to seize the opportunity created by COVID-19 school closures to press for lasting assessment reforms. States should be pressed to seek federal testing waivers […]