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The movement to suspend standardized testing requirements at least for the 2020-2021 academic year is growing rapidly at both the K-12 and college admissions levels. Now is the time for activists to seize the opportunity created by COVID-19 school closures to press for lasting assessment reforms. States should be pressed to seek federal testing waivers […]

Though classrooms across the country have closed for the summer, pressure continues to grow to overhaul policies which promote standardized exam overuse and misuses. Parents, educators and public officials are all moving forward with efforts to reduce test volume, eliminate high-stakes consequences, and promote better forms of assessment. You can help by keeping the “heat” […]

This week’s news stories — from a third of all U.S. states and around the world — shows the growing impact of grassroots organizing to replace high-stakes exams with better types of assessments. Policy-makers are clearly beginning to heed the “Less Testing, More Learning” message: NationalMajor Study Concludes: Don’t Use ACT/SAT as State High School […]

The advent of public school testing season brings with it heightened grassroots pressure for meaningful assessment reform. From third-grade promotion exams to high school graduation tests to exam-score-based teacher evaluations, policymakers are responding to concerns from parents, students, educators and community leaders. National Consumer Guide to Testing Under Federal “Every Student Succeeds Act” https://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/rd-assessment-guide National […]

Along with an ever-growing number of stories about successful assessment reform initiatives, we still see many disturbing reports of ongoing damage to students and educators from standardized exam misuse and overuse. Grassroots activists and their allies should feel free to contact FairTest for assistance with building winning local campaigns to replace testing overkill with authentic […]

With the peak of the current coronavirus pandemic arguably behind us in much of the U.S., policymakers are beginning to discuss what should happen when the nation’s-public schools and colleges are allowed to re-open. Not surprisingly, the role of standardized exam scores in post-COVID-19 education is a key question. Parents, teachers and reform advocates should […]

As fallout from November 8 continues to settle, activists across the nation are already pressing newly elected legislators to reduce testing volume, eliminate high-stakes standardized exams, and promote better forms of assessment. Happy Thanksgiving to all ! NationalLessons from NCLB for the Every Student Succeeds Acthttp://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/lessons-from-NCLB AlaskaSchools Get Testing Waiver After Computer Administration Failurehttp://juneauempire.com/local/2016-11-22/alaska-schools-get-testing-waiver FloridaStudents […]

As the Biden presidential transition moves into high gear, a decision about waiving federal standardized exam requirements for spring 2021 looms as one of the first major issues for a new U.S. Secretary of Education to address. Simultaneously, pressure is building on states to waive their own K-12 and university admissions testing mandates. FairTest is […]

Assessment reform stories from more than a third of all 50 states in just the past week demonstrate the breadth and depth of the movement to replace standardized exam overkill with better forms of assessment. FairTest staff stands ready to assist local activists with their campaigns — just contact us via email or phone. NationalHow […]

Parents, educators, students and activists in many communities are using the “quiet” summer months to plan campaigns that will build the assessment reform movement’s power once schools reopen. Across the country, more and more media outlets are reporting on the impact grassroots organizing already has made on policy-makers. Remember that archived issues of these weekly […]