Author: FairTest

By TAMAR LEWIN March 18, 2002 Peter DaSilva for The New York Times PITTSBURG, Calif. — Kyle Stofle, a 10th grader at Pittsburg High School who has dyslexia and virtually unreadable handwriting, has been in special education since second grade. But Kyle, 15, has always expected to get his diploma along with the rest of […]

The High Stake of High-Stakes Testing Dave Orphal Teacher Zoe Barnum High School orphald@eurekacityschools.org Abstract This article first appeared in Alternative Network Journal. After forty-nine states have adopted state standards for education and as the number of states attaching high-stakes examinations to these standards grows, it becomes more necessary for educators to enter into the […]

As we enter into a national debate on school improvement and greater public school accountability with a heavy emphasis on testing, educators are concerned that a solitary focus on testing ignores important opportunities to help all students achieve at high levels. Overreliance on testing could have the unintended consequence of hurting more than helping. NEA […]

February 28, 2003 Dear Representative: As recognized experts in the fields of early childhood development and assessment, we write to express our concerns about plans proposed by the Head Start Bureau to implement a National Reporting System for all 4- and 5-year-olds in Head Start in the Fall of 2003. We agree in principle with […]

Failing Our Children: · How “No Child Left Behind” Undermines Quality and Equity in Education · An Accountability Model That Supports School Improvement “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB), the title of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, describes a worthy goal for our nation. Tragically, NCLB is aggravating, not solving, the real problems that […]

for further information:Dr. Monty Neill (857) 350-8207Bob Schaeffer (239) 395-6773 FairTest National Center for Fair & Open Testing for use after 12:01am, Thursday, May 27, 2004 Two-Year Report Card on Federal Education Reform:NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND IS “FAILING OUR CHILDREN”FALSE ASSUMPTIONS, ARBITRARY RULES HURT SCHOOL QUALITY, EQUITYNEW ACCOUNTABILITY MODEL PROPOSED TO IMPROVE CLASSROOMS The first […]

October 25, 2007 Dear Candidate for President: As the only national organization with testing reform as its focus, FairTest has a more than 20-year history of working to improve assessment of America’s students. We have addressed such issues as the proper role of college admissions exams in university admissions, state graduation and grade promotion tests, […]

FairTest Fact Sheet: The Value of Formative Assessment HTML The Expert Panel on Assessment recommends overhaul of NCLB testing and accountability provisions. See the full report: Assessment and Accountability for Improving Schools and Learning: Principles and Recommendations for Federal Law and State and Local Systems, by the Expert Panel on Assessment, convened by the Forum […]

Here is what officials at colleges and universities nationwide have to say about the SAT and ACT: “Schools that use the SAT are throwing away a third of their talent.” – William Hiss, Dean of Enrollment at Bates College “The negative impact of the SATs falls disproportionately on African Americans and Latinos. If you care […]

Terry CrooksEducational Assessment Research UnitUniversity of OtagoBox 56, Dunedin, New Zealand(Terry.Crooks@otago.ac.nz) Paper presented at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, Illinois, 22 April 2003,within Session 36.011 – Accountability from an International Perspective. Some Criteria for Intelligent Accountability Because this is the first paper in this session, it is appropriate to begin […]