Author: FairTest

Forum on Educational Accountability (FEA) http://www.edaccountability.org for further information: Bob Schaeffer (239) 395-6773 cell (239) 699-0468 for release at 1pm, Wed., March 17, 2010 panel – 1333 H St., NW, Suite 300, East Tower, DC “NO CHILD” OVERHAUL MUST INCLUDE PROVISIONS FOR ACCOUNTABILITY THAT ADVANCES LEARNING As Congress takes up President Obama’s proposals to update […]

On February 17, the Washington Post “The Answer Sheet” blog featured a contribution by FairTest’s Lisa Guisbond on linking teachers’ pay to their students’ test scores, which attracted more reader comments than any other posting to the site in the past several months: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/no-child-left-behind/why-n… and the Los Angeles Times relied heavily on quotes from FairTest […]

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2010/02/08/fairtest-national-merit-criteria-need-public-airing-and-review/?cxntfid=blogs_get_schooled_blog

for further information: Bob Schaeffer (239) 395-6773 cell (239) 699-0468 for immediate release, Monday, February 8, 2010 NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP CORP. BULLIES SCHOOL COUNSELOR TO REMOVE STATE-BY-STATE QUALIFYING TEST SCORES FROM WEB; FAIRTEST RE-POST’S “CENSORED” DATA TO SHOW AWARD’S BIASES. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), which runs the country’s most prestigious tuition aid competition, […]

for more information, contact Dr. Monty Neill (617) 522-0801 Bob Schaeffer (239) 395-6773 for immediate release, Wednesday evening, January 27, 2010 REACTION TO PRESIDENT OBAMA’S STATE OF THE UNION PROPOSALS ON SCHOOL “REFORM” President Obama deserves praise for proposing increased funding for the nation’s public schools, particularly if the additional money goes to classrooms serving […]

Monty Neill’s article, “A Child Is Not a Test Score: Assessment as a Civil Rights Issue,” from the Fall 2009 issue of Root and Branch, is avaiable here. Root and Branch, published by the Advancement Project ( http://www.advancementproject.org), is available in full at http://www.rootandbranchmagazine.org/. Attachment Size root & branch fall – MN testing only.pdf 1.85 […]

December 8, 2009 Greetings! Seasons Greetings to you and your loved ones. Here at FairTest, we are already looking beyond the upcoming holidays to 2010, our organization’s 25th Anniversary. In the two and a half decades since leaders of the country’s civil rights, education reform, student and feminist organizations founded the National Center for Fair […]

from the Third International Conference on Assessment for Learning Dunedin, New Zealand, March 2009 (NOTE: For a formated printable PDF of this document click here.) ‘Assessment for Learning’ and ‘formative assessment’ are phrases that are widely used in educational discourse in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom and Europe . A […]

NOTE: for a PDF formatted version of this fact sheet click here) Independent researchers have found that evaluating and paying teachers for test scores is either damaging or irrelevant to improved learning.* Unfortunately, even evidence of harm does not seem to affect the growing popularity of such schemes. Policymakers, including U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, […]

Thank you. My name is Monty Neill and I am the Interim Executive Director of FairTest, the National Center for Fair & Open Testing. Before the nation can successfully implement better assessment practices, it must first reject the incorrect assumptions and flawed logic of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). To ensure effective education reform, including […]