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Response to the coronavirus pandemic dominates this week’s testing news, just as it does for other major activities. As this collection of articles makes clear, there’s no excuse for compelling children to sit for standardized exams in this risky environment. Jurisdictions that have not yet cancelled spring testing should be pressed to do so immediately! […]

Most states have now sought waivers from federal testing requirements, which the U.S. Department of Education quickly granted, but several holdouts still need grassroots pressure to lift this burden from students, parents and families In addition, many states have not yet taken action to suspend their own testing mandates (e.g. exit exams, grade promotion score […]

What a week! A letter from the Biden Administration’s Department of Education asserting that it will reject waivers seeking cancellation of all spring 2021 federally mandated testing, which 10 states had already requested, unleashed a storm of protest from parents, teachers and community leaders, as well as top local and state policy makers. One measure […]

The record of victories earned by testing reformers in 2019 continues to expand — both posting concrete meaningful policy wins and building public opinion against high-stakes standardized exams. Please help give our movement the clout need to make even more progress in 2020 by contributing to FairTest here: or by mailing your check to 196 […]

Labor Day marks the official start of the school year in parts of the country, though classroom have been open for a few weeks in many other states. Already, assessment reform campaigns are winning victories as more public officials heed the message that parents, teachers, administrators and community leaders are fed up with standardized exam […]

The back-to-school agenda for the growing, national assessment reform movement is straight-forward: cut the volume of standardized testing; eliminate high-stakes exam misuses; encourage alternative accountability systems. Campaigns are already having an impact in many states. NationalTake Advantage of Opportunities to Testify at State Hearings on ESSA Planshttps://janresseger.wordpress.com/2016/08/19/please-testify-in-state-hearings-on-essa-plans-point-out-the-road-away-from-test-and-punish/ AlabamaState Holds Public Meetings for Input on ESSA […]

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 […]

Early fall is a very busy season for assessment reformers across the nation, as this week’s stories from a third of the states plus higher education and overseas clearly show. Policy makers are paying particular attention to their constituents’ concerns as Election Day draws near. National The Flaws in NAEP “Achievement Levels” https://dianeravitch.net/2018/09/20/the-letter-i-wrote-about-changing-naep-achievement-levels-you-write-one-too/ California Don’t […]

Pressure from grassroots activists and a bipartisan group of policymakers has forced President Trump and Education Secretary DeVos to allow states to suspend federal standardized exam requirements in the wake of the coronavirus. But to completely eliminate Spring 2020 testing, state leaders must 1) file formal requests with the U.S. Department of Education to be […]

With the spring 2021 “testing for the sake of testing” charade getting underway, many parents are responding by opting their children out of pointless standardized exams. Initial reports indicate record numbers of public school children will not bother sitting for this year’s tests. On New York State’s Long Island, for example, fully half of all […]