With less than 100 days left before the November 2018 elections, grassroots activists are increasing the pressure on contenders for Congress, statewide offices, legislative seats, and local school boards to speak out against testing misuse and overuse. This is the season to get the attention of public officials and win their commitment to genuine assessment reform — be sure to find out where candidates stand before giving them you vote!
Arizona All State Super Candidates Criticize State Test and School Grades
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/07/27/arizona-school-superintendent-candidates-debate-live-azcentral-forum-facebook-election/828807002/
Arkansas School Grades Flunk
https://www.arktimes.com/arkansas/school-grades-flunk/Content?oid=20732703
District of Columbia Teacher Fired for Poor “Value-Added” Score Wins Court Case
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/ive-been-a-hostage-for-nine-years-fired-teachers-wins-battle-with-dc-schools/2018/07/22/ac352722-8c27-11e8-a345-a1bf7847b375_story.html
Florida Retention, Remediation or Poor Class Placement: What’s a Parent to Do?
https://theoptoutfloridanetwork.wordpress.com/2018/06/30/retention-remediation-or-poor-class-placement-whats-a-parent-to-do/
Florida Bizarre Questions From Licensing Test Nearly 1,000 Teachers Failed
http://contests.wptv.com/Florida-Teacher-Test-Guide-Practice-Test/questions/856512
Florida What do School Grades Really Mean?
https://www.floridaphoenix.com/2018/07/26/to-parents-is-your-childs-a-school-really-excellent-and-why-are-d-and-f-schools-so-rare/
Georgia Test Scores Alone Do Not Identify “Failing” Schools
https://www.myajc.com/blog/get-schooled/improve-schools-address-poverty-and-involve-teachers/zDupQpIRfm3MUT9BtCArmL/
Georgia Exam Administration Improprieties Alleged
http://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/school-testing-improprieties-alleged-in-clayton-county
Kentucky Invasion of the Test-Driven Public School Snatchers
https://forwardky.com/theyre-here-the-invasion-of-the-public-school-snatchers/
Louisiana How Valid Is the State’s LEAP Test?
https://louisianaeducator.blogspot.com/2018/07/how-valid-is-louisiana-leap-tests.html
Louisiana State Investigates Cheating on Standardized Tests
http://www.wbrz.com/news/state-investigates-cheating-on-standardized-tests-students-get-zeroes/
Maine “Proficiency-Based” Learning Requirement Repealed
https://www.centralmaine.com/2018/07/25/our-view-with-proficiency-based-learning-abandoned-maine-is-back-to-square-one/
Massachusetts Legislature Restores Funding for Study of Alternatives to State Test
http://www.thesunchronicle.com/news/local_news/legislature-restores-funding-for-studying-alternatives-to-mcas/article_cb0b6094-fe7e-502a-97a6-05e2538d6215.html
New York Performance Assessment Based Program Yields Superior Performance
http://tbrnewsmedia.com/comsewogue-students-pilot-program-outperform-peers-traditional-classes/
New York Testing Requirements Undermines Diversity in Selective Schools
https://www.thenation.com/article/elite-new-york-high-schools-need-diversity-standardized-testing-isnt-helping/
Oregon Schools Offered Support, Not Sanctions, for Low Scores
https://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-education-high-school-support-sanctions/
Tennessee Most Teachers Say Standardized Testing Is a Waste of Time
http://www.wsmv.com/story/38734270/most-tennessee-teachers-feel-standardized-testing-in-a-waste-of-time
Tennessee Governor Worries That Ongoing Testing Troubles Could Threaten “Legacy”
https://tn.chalkbeat.org/posts/tn/2018/07/24/haslam-education-legacy/
Virginia How to Define School Success in an Era of Inequity
https://www.richmond.com/news/how-should-schools-be-defined-as-successful-in-an-age/article_1cc7794f-9a29-5daf-a595-0a06fbf352de.html
International Vietnam Test Scoring Scandal Provokes Public Outcry
https://www.ucanews.com/news/public-outcry-over-vietnam-exam-scandal/82910
University Admissions The SAT “Writing” Test is Dying! Put It Out of It’s Misery
https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/california-forum/article215577295.html
Worth Reading Five Myths About Standardized Testing
https://www.scarymommy.com/5-myths-standardized-tests/