Author: FairTest

Pop Quiz on Testing http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/06/13/35guisbond.h31.html Three Tulsa, Oklahoma Boards Endorse National Resolution on High-Stakes Testing http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=19&articleid=20120613_19_A1_MoreOk107993 Florida School Boards Association Adopts Anti-High-Stakes-Testing Resolution http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20120614/ARTICLE/120619718 Standardized Testing for Arts, Music & Gym? http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2012/06/standardized_tests_for_the_arts_is_that_a_good_idea_.html Superintendent John Kuhn on “Getting Education Reform Right” http://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/13/getting-education-reform-right/ 10 Ways to Oppose High-Stakes Standardized Tests http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/10-ways-to-oppose-high-stakes-standardized-tests/2012/06/13/gJQARRODbV_blog.html Feds Investigate Another Major Texas Cheating […]

Published in Education Week June 11, 2012 (on line) and June 13 (print), 2012CommentaryBy Lisa Guisbond You can practically hear the collective relief as school testing season winds down across America. It’s not just the sighs of millions of overtested and stressed-out children. Joining them are state officials, school administrators, teachers, and parents. All, for […]

There has been no let up in grassroots pressure to overhaul assessment even as the school year winds to a close around the nation. Florida Exam-Scoring Fiasco Reveals Flaws of Test-Driven Schoolinghttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/11/education/florida-backtracks-on-standardized-state-tests.html FairTest Honors Deborah Meier Hero of Education Award Recipient Diane Ravitch http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-thompson/honoring-deborah-w-meier-_b_1587995.html How “No Stakes” Testing Promotes Long-Term Learning — (ignore the misleading […]

See video footage: FairTest Honors Diane Ravitch with the Deborah W. Meier Hero in Education Award, June 5, 2012.

FairTest, in collaboration with independent counselor Elizabeth Stone, generated such strong public pressure that the College Board was forced to withdraw its plan to offer a unique, mid-summer SAT only for students enrolled in a special program at Amherst College which costs $4,500. See the story here.

for further information:Bob Schaeffer (239) 395-6773Elizabeth Stone (650) 579-6180 for use after 10:30am EDT, Monday, June 4, 2012 FAIR TESTING ADVOCATES URGE COLLEGE BOARD: CANCEL SPECIAL, AUGUST 3 “RICH KIDS SAT” The National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest) and independent counselor Dr. Elizabeth Stone, who exposed a controversial plan to administer an official […]

Testing Reform in the News is a regular compilation of significant stories about testing, assessment reform, and the growing resistance to high-stakes testing. On an ongoing basis, typically weekly, FairTest will post a set of links to these stories. See the posts here.

for further information:Bob Schaeffer (239) 395-6773Elizabeth Stone (650) 579-6180 for immediate release, Wednesday, May 30, 2012 FAIRTEST SUPPORTS ADMISSION COUNSELOR’S COMPLAINT ABOUT SPECIAL AUGUST SAT EXAM LIMITED TO WEALTHY STUDENTS; CALLS ON COLLEGE BOARD TO JUSTIFY EXCLUSIVE OPTION The National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest) today endorsed a complaint to the College Board […]

Are standardized tests fair and helpful evaluation tools? Not really. On standardized exams, all test takers answer the same questions under the same conditions, usually in multiple-choice format. Such tests reward quick answers to superficial questions. They do not measure the ability to think deeply or creatively in any field. Their use encourages a narrowed […]

Nina Bishop is asking parents across the country to join her in seeking redress from schools that bully children when parents opt them out of oppressive state testing. Drawing on her own experience of the difficulties encountered when opting children out of the CSAP, a Colorado state test instituted in compliance with the federal No […]