Anyone who thinks assessment reform campaigns (and victories) are confined to a few “liberal” states, should check out this week’s stories from places such as Mississippi, Oklahoma and Wyoming. The movement to roll back standardized exam overuse and misuse is truly national, cutting across traditional partisan and ideological lines, and it is accelerating rapidly.
Remember that back issues of these updates are archived at http://www.fairtest.org/news/other — you can also encourage your coworkers, allies and friends to sign up for free at http://www.fairtest.org/weekly-news-signup
California Deal to End Los Angeles Teacher Strike Will Cut Standardized Exams in Half
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/22/us/la-teacher-strike-deal.html
Delaware Stop Shaming Schools Based on Test Scores
https://www.delawareonline.com/story/opinion/contributors/2019/01/25/opinion-stop-shaming-delaware-schools-test-scores/2676470002/
Florida Seeking Alternatives to High School Exit Exam
http://www.tampabay.com/education/one-size-doesnt-fit-all-should-florida-widen-the-path-to-high-school-graduation-20190128/
Maryland “Readiness” Testing Gets Purpose of Kindergarten Backwards
https://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2019/01/md-failing-five-year-olds.html
Massachusetts Test Scores Do Not Define School Quality
https://commonwealthmagazine.org/opinion/boston-officials-should-stop-slandering-their-own-schools/
Michigan Superintendent Warns Parents About New Third Grade Reading Test Retention Law
https://www.sentinel-standard.com/news/20190123/ionia-superintendent-warns-parents-about-new-law-that-will-keep-third-graders-with-reading-issues-from-advancing-to-fourth-grade
Mississippi Educators Testify About the Toll of Testing
https://mississippitoday.org/2019/01/22/crying-real-tears-educators-testify-about-the-toll-of-standardized-testing/
New Jersey Debating Next Steps After Court Rejects PARCC Exit Exam
https://mcorfield.blogspot.com/2019/01/update-action-govmurphy-promised-to.html
New Mexico Legislative Panel Approves End to A-to-F Grades for Schools
https://www.abqjournal.com/1274040/panel-approves-ending-af-grades-for-schools.html
New York How Teacher Evaluations Will Be Decoupled From Test Scores
https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/politics/albany/2019/01/23/teacher-evaluations-new-york-heres-how-they-decoupled-student-test-scores/2656312002/
New York Latest Teacher Evaluation Rule Still Has High-States Testing Risks
https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-the-trouble-with-nys-new-teacher-evaluation-legislation-20190123-story.html
North Carolina State Superintendent’s Initiatives Will Trim Testing
https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2019/01/new-testing-policies-0122
Ohio Top School Officials Face Suspension for Scrubbing Low-Scoring Students from Enrollment Rolls
http://www.wtol.com/2019/01/24/tps-superintendent-faces-temporary-license-suspension-related-data-scrubbing/
Oklahoma Bill Would Bar Third Grade Retention Based on Single Test Score
https://www.claremoreprogress.com/news/sen-dossett-says-bill-will-assure-single-federal-reading-test/article_a847751c-1f4c-11e9-94bb-e7dd1c0bb7d1.html
Pennsylvania New Legislative Education Leaders Seek to Reduce Role of State Tests
https://whyy.org/articles/22awstate/
Texas Should the State Eliminate High-Stakes Exams
https://www.keranews.org/post/should-texas-eliminate-high-stakes-staar-test
Wyoming House Committee Votes to Eliminate Student Test Scores From Teacher Evaluations
https://kemmerergazette.com/article/house-committee-votes-to-remove-standardized-test-scores-from-wyoming-teacher-evaluations
University Admissions Grad Record Exam (GRE) Fails to Identify Students Who Will Graduate and Undermines Diversity
http://www.rit.edu/news/story.php?id=69014
International Scotland The Inherent Flaws in Testing Five Year Olds
https://www.tes.com/news/inherent-flaw-testing-5-year-olds
Bob Schaeffer, Public Education Director
FairTest: National Center for Fair & Open Testing
office- (239) 395-6773 mobile- (239) 699-0468
web- http://www.fairtest.org