Testing Resistance & Reform News: July 4 – 11, 2017

Continuing a slow but steady movement, several more states have eliminated testing requirements and others are considering rolling back mandates. There’s still a long way to go to end test misuse and overuse, but signs of progress should not be downplayed.
Assessment reform advocates looking for more information about alternatives to standardized exams should check out FairTest Board member Deborah Meier’s newly published book Beyond Testing (https://deborahmeier.com/2017/07/10/beyond-testing/) — use the code TCP2017 for a 20% discount

National Schools Haunted By Ghost of No Child Left Behind
http://observer.com/2017/07/effect-standardized-testing-public-schools/
National Can States Use Science Tests to Rate Schools Under ESSA
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2017/07/can_states_use_scie…

Alabama Analyzing the Achievement Gap and Trying to Address It
http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2017/07/alabamas_achievement_gap.html

Arkansas Educators Say They Generally Like State’s ESSA Plan
http://ualrpublicradio.org/post/educators-say-they-generally-states-draf…

California San Diego Takes College Board to Court Over AP Test Score Cancellation
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2017/jul/07/san-diego-unified-considers-legal-c…

Colorado State Tests to Change for Third Time in Seven Years
http://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/co/2017/07/05/from-csap-to-parcc-heres-ho…
Colorado Best Schools May Not Be Ones With Top Test Scores
http://www.denverpost.com/2017/07/06/is-the-best-school-the-one-with-the…

Delaware State Largely Sticks With Original ESSA Plan Despite Federal Criticisms
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2017/07/essa_plan_changes_r…

Florida State Conducts Online Survey About Draft ESSA Plan
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/education/school-zone/os-florida…
Florida Small Testing Reforms Buried in Bad Education Law
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/education/school-zone/os-florida…

Illinois Chicago Teacher’s Suit Says She Was Fired for Testing Reform Activism
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-chicago-teacher-sue…

Massachusetts New Boston Teachers Union President Supports Ending Graduation Test
https://commonwealthmagazine.org/education/changing-of-the-guard/

New Mexico Test-Based Evaluations Rate More Than Twice as Many Teachers “Ineffective” as in Any Other State
http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2017/07/expert-nm-teacher-evals-are-…

New York School Officials Criticize Geometry Regents Test
http://liherald.com/stories/school-officials-sound-off-on-state-geometry…

Ohio Two State Tests Eliminated
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/state-tests-eliminated-for-ohio-scho…

Pennsylvania Bill Would End Grad Test, Replace State Exams With SAT
http://triblive.com/news/education/12447694-74/standardized-keystone-exa…

South Carolina Test-Based Grade Retention Will Be a Disaster
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/2017/07/06/students/451588001/
South Carolina Computer Testing Glitches Severely Delay ACT Scores
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/after-technical-glitch-south-carolina…

Texas Declining Scores Raise Questions About Tests’ Value
http://www.mystatesman.com/news/drops-texas-staar-scores-raise-questions…

Washington Passing Biology Test No Longer Is Graduation Requirement
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/biology-test-no-longer-re…

West Virginia Draft School “Scorecard” Includes More Than Test Scores
http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/tri_state/west_virginia/w-va-school-…

University Admissions New Movie Features International Test Cheating
http://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/bad-genius-review-1202485046/

International United Kingdom: We’re Teaching Kids The Wrong Things in School
https://qz.com/1022656/teaching-kids-reason-in-school-boosts-their-math-…

Worth Reading “Grade Level”May Depend on the Test
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/inside-school-research/2017/07/reading_on…
Worth Reading Test Scores Tell Us More About Where Students Live Than What They Know
https://theconversation.com/students-test-scores-tell-us-more-about-the-…
Worth Reading Schools Try to Reduce Exam Stress Instead of Addressing Over-Testing Problem
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/pre-test-jitters-heres-teachers-help…

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