Author: FairTest

We hope you find these weekly news summaries useful in advancing your important work. You can help support the assessment reform movement financially by making a contribution at:https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/fairtestor clicking: Remember that back issues of these updates are archived athttp://www.fairtest.org/news/other NationalMore States Using Accountability Dashboards Instead of Simplistic Test-Based Gradeshttp://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2018/05/essa_dashboards_accountability_school_ratings.htmlFloridaSchool Board Weighs In Against Proposal to […]

It’s peak testing season, with many problems regarding standardized exams — both how they are administered and, more importantly, how their results are (mis)used — reported around the country. Fortunately, a growing movement of parents, students, educators and community leaders is pushing back: visits to FairTest’s Opt-Out Guide (http://www.fairtest.org/get-involved/opting-out) and other resources for activists doubled […]

for further information: Bob Schaeffer (239) 395-6773 mobile (239) 699-0468 for release with “Defining Access” report – 8am EDT, Thurs. April 26, 2018 TEST-OPTIONAL ADMISSIONS LEADER APPLAUDS NEW STUDY: “DEFINING ACCESS” SHOWS ELIMINATING ACT/SAT SCORE REQUIREMENTS PROMOTES EQUITY AND ACADEMIC QUALITY A major study released today provides strong evidencethat ACT/SAT-optional schools increase campus diversity without […]

In addition to lots of other testing news, several states that contract with Questar, a for-profit subsidiary of the Educational Testing Service, recently experienced significant disruptions of their computerized standardized exams. In three — New York, Ohio and Tennessee — the entire assessment system crashed. The latest failures add to the evidence that corporate and […]

With students taking annual standardized exams in schools across the U.S., there’s a spate of stories about computerized testing breakdowns, assessment design flaws, and the educational damage from current policies. All this evidence will strengthen the movement seeking to replace testing overkill with better forms of assessment. Remember that back issues of these weekly news […]

for further information: Bob Schaeffer (239) 395-6773 orDr. Monty Neill (617) 477-9792​ forrelease, Wednesday, April 10, 2018 NAEP RESULTS ADD TO EVIDENCE OF TEST-AND-PUNISH ERAFAILURES AS ASSESSMENT REFORM MOVEMENT ACCELERATES ACROSS U.S. The National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest), which leads the U.S. assessment reform movement, released the following statement inresponse to today’s […]

For nearly two decades, proponents of test-and-punish policies have claimed that their strategies would lead to gains in overall academic performance and a narrowing of historic score gaps. But according to National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores released today, no such trend has taken place. In fact, data support the opposite conclusion: NAEP score […]

April is the peak month for test-obsessed classrooms in many parts of the country — simultaneously the opt-out movement and legislative assessment reform proposals are surging, as this week’s rich collection of news clips demonstrates. Note that 2017 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores for Mathematics and Reading are due to be released on […]

Entering the peak weeks of school testing season, pressure from students, educators and community leaders for genuine assessment reform is accelerating as more people recognize how much classroom learning time is undermined by standardized exam overkill. Multiple StatesDid Changed Test Questions Cause Decline in Smarter Balanced Test Scoreshttps://jaypgreene.com/2018/03/26/did-changed-test-questions-cause-national-decline-in-smarter-balanced-scores/ ColoradoTesting Fixation Rushes Students Past Real Learninghttps://www.coloradoan.com/story/opinion/2018/03/25/opinion-start-school-later-and-let-learners-take-their-time/445465002/ […]

This week’s wave of stories highlights the growing recognition that standardized exam scores are a poor way to measure progress of students, teachers or schools. That’s a major reason why the assessment reform movement is rapidly expanding across the country. Arkansas Even School “Reformers” Doubt Value of Test Scores as Measure of Successhttps://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2018/03/19/stop-the-press… California Stay […]