Author: FairTest

The Coalition of Essential Schools has a collection of high-quality assessments and ways to use them to achieve equity: http://www.ceschangelab.org/cs/clpub/view/cl_cat/29 May 2007 is CES “National Exhibtion Month” – for more on it, see http://www.essentialschools.org/pub/ces_docs/schools/nem/nem_overview.html ENHANCING TEACHING AND IMPROVING LEARNING: A Proposed System of Curriculum-Based Assessment for the Chicago Public Schools by the Commission on Improving […]

2016 REPORT: Assessment Matters: Constructing Model State Systems to Replace Testing Overkill 2016 Fact Sheet: Overhauling Assessment to Improve Teaching and Learning: New Opportunities under the Every Student Succeeds Act Assessment that Supports Education – Short Video on Mission Hill School A Better Way to Assess Students and Evaluate Schools “Multiple Measures: A Definition and […]

Physical Facilities: SizeLocation, AccessibilityScope: Adequacy for All PurposesPhysical Condition and RepairCleanliness; Care of the BuildingAttractivenessDisplay of Student Work and Achievement in the BuildingLevel of Student Respect for the Physical Facilities Climate: Level of Physical SafetyLevel of Emotional SafetyLevel of Courtesy and RespectQuality of Student BehaviorCommunication in the BuildingRelationships among Students: All Students; Sub-Groups (Minorities, Ethnic […]

Ken Jones For some time now, it has been apparent to many in the educational community that state and federal policies intended to develop greater school accountability for the learning of all students have been terribly counter-productive. The use of high-stakes testing of students has been fraught with flawed assumptions, oversimplified understandings of school realities, […]

[A Note from FairTest: this report focuses on New York City, but contains strong arguments and a good set of references.]Institute for Education & Social Policy Steinhardt School of Education New York University and National Center for Schools and Communities Fordham UniversityMarch 2004In his 2004 State of the City, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced a […]

By ALEX CAPUTO-PEARL I teach at one of the “100 worst” schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Superintendent Ruben Zacarias placed my school, John Muir Middle School, on probation last September primarily because its students scored low on the Stanford 9 test, along with not meeting other “key indicators” such as attendance and […]

by Richard L. Allington, Ph.D., University of Florida, in Issues in Education: Contributions from Educational Psychology. Adapted by CalCARE and FairTest. Here are twelve strategies that have been used to improve test scores without improving achievement, as reported in research reports and media accounts:1. Alter the answer sheets (cheat). Change kids’ wrong answers to right […]

Arnold Packer, SCANS 2000 Center, The Johns Hopkins University The High School Assessments ForumTuesday, October 21, 2003Oakland Mills Interfaith Center Thank you for the opportunity to come here today. Hopkins, of course, is both a university and a hospital. Hopkins professors, it is rumored, show that they are “rigorous” by starting out the semester saying […]

San Francisco Examiner Monday, Aug 23, 1999 By Caroline GrannanSPECIAL TO THE EXAMINER The people who make decisions about California’s public schools are enraptured at the moment by the notion that scoring every kid nationwide on the exact same test will make our schools great. This idea is propelled by a weird political whirlwind rather […]

by Angela Engel Conversations in education have been dominated by the topic of test scores for the past two decades. Standardized tests are currently lauded as “the answer” to teacher accountability, higher student achievement, standards, and expectations. Claims of “objective measures,” and “scientific evaluations” promise to “fix” our schools and improve learning for children once […]