Search Results for: node/virginia Schools

Grassroots pressure is leading many states and districts to re-evaluate their standardized testing requirements and start developing alternative, performance-based assessments, often seeking to use new flexibility under the recently adopted federal education law. Keep the heat on! NationalRules Proposed for ESSA’s Innovative Assessment Pilot Programhttp://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2016/07/essa_innovative_assessment_regulations.html ArkansasElementary Schools Should Be About More than Test Scoreshttp://swtimes.com/columns-blogs/jessica-hayes/education-today-elementary-school-should-be-more-test-scores CaliforniaDeciphering […]

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! […]

This week’s wave of stories highlights the growing recognition that standardized exam scores are a poor way to measure progress of students, teachers or schools. That’s a major reason why the assessment reform movement is rapidly expanding across the country. Arkansas Even School “Reformers” Doubt Value of Test Scores as Measure of Successhttps://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2018/03/19/stop-the-press… California Stay […]

Assessment reform activists are taking advantage of opportunities under the new federal education law to push back against testing overkill with a range of proposals from auditing local standardized exam requirements to overhauling statewide school evaluation policies. To ensure that we have the capacity to support winning grassroots campaigns, please include FairTest in your year-end […]

Promoting Sound Assessment – a paper prepared by FairTest for the American Association of School Administrators, published on our website with permission. By Monty Neill, Ed.D.Co-Executive DirectorFairTest As implemented in all but a few states, NCLB accountability requirements are based almost entirely on state standardized tests. Thus, schools are rated and face sanctions on the […]

Status: Archived Subject: K-12 Testing FairTest Examiner, December 2008 Surveys show the public is increasingly contemptuous of the federal “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB) law and its impact on teaching and learning. But miles from real-life classroom concerns, a powerful network of inside-the-beltway ideologues continues to defend NCLB and press for its expansion. In contrast, […]

by Massachusetts Professors and Researchers There has been a ground swell of opposition to the overuse and misuse of standardized testing across the United States. This includes statements from more than 670 Texas school boards, nearly one-third of all New York State principals, and hundreds of organizations and thousands of individuals who have endorsed the […]

Overhauling Assessment to Improve Teaching and Learning: New Opportunities under the Every Student Succeeds Act The federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) creates valuable opportunities to replace standardized tests with performance assessments. These can promote the engagement, creativity and critical thinking skills that have been stifled by teaching to standardized tests. States can shift to […]

Status: Archived Subject: K-12 Testing By Sally Thomas “The moderation acts as a professional development tool to improve the quality of the [student] record.” “Teachers use the language of the scales to help them look for evidence. Teachers also cross check their knowledge/interpretations before arriving at a score.” These comments from observers at the 2001 […]

Status: Archived Subject: K-12 Testing In late October 2004, nearly 30 national civil rights and education organizations sent to Congress a “Joint Statement on No Child Left Behind Act,” concluding that NCLB’s “emphasis needs to shift from applying sanctions for failing to raise test scores to holding states and localities accountable for making the systemic […]