A first step in many successful assessment reform campaigns is encouraging the public — and policy-makers — to question the value of standardized exams and recognize that test results are often misleading. That is exactly what grassroots activists and their academic allies are doing in many states this summer.
IllinoisAdvocacy Groups and Educators Oppose Plan to Increase Testing Volume
https://news.yahoo.com/teachers-advocacy-groups-concerned-state-140000286.html
IndianaParents Question Value of Test Results in Wake of Pandemic-Era Exams
https://indianapublicmedia.org/news/as-pandemic-year-ilearn-results-loom,-some-parents-question-value-of-standardized-tests.php
MassachusettsFight Over Exam School Admissions Criteria Escalates
https://www.baystatebanner.com/2021/07/07/exam-school-admissions-spat-nearly-derails-budget/
MichiganLegislators Question Value of Work Keys Test That Most Employers Ignore
https://newsnationusa.com/news/education/michigan-employers-say-workkeys-test-unlocks-doors-but-lawmakers-question-whether-its-worth-4-4-million/
New JerseyStudent Test Scores Tell Us More About Communities Where Students Live Than What They Know
https://news.yahoo.com/students-test-scores-tell-us-231245530.html
North CarolinaBills Advance to Relax Exam Accountability
https://www.ednc.org/2021-06-09-bill-revision-means-big-money-for-public-schools-but-there-is-a-downside-for-the-state-board/
North Carolina Mother Advocates for Testing Reform by Refusing Standardized Exam for Son
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/charlotte/news/2021/07/08/raleigh-mother-refuses-standardized-testing-for-son
OklahomaControversy Over New Civics Test Graduation Requirement
https://www.the74million.org/article/in-pursuit-of-a-better-democracy-or-something-else-oklahoma-latest-state-to-require-high-schoolers-to-pass-citizenship-test/
TexasDistrict Explains That State Test Scores Tell Misleading Story
https://starlocalmedia.com/coppellgazette/news/coppell-isd-says-staar-test-scores-dont-tell-the-whole-story/article_49f5cb2a-e020-11eb-ac71-db7c2b29cf58.html
Texas Families Opting Out of Standardized Exams
https://klaq.com/el-paso-families-opting-out-of-staar/
VirginiaNew Selective High School Admissions Process Improves Equity
https://bluevirginia.us/2021/07/new-holistic-admissions-process-at-thomas-jefferson-high-school-for-science-and-technology-tj-improves-equity-and-is-not-a-purge
University AdmissionOpen Letter to U.S. News Signed by FairTest: End Misuse of ACT/SAT Scores for School Rankings
https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/edcentral/to-the-editors-of-us-news-and-world-reports-best-colleges-rankings/
University Admission All Illinois Public Universities Will Become Test-Optional
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2021/07/11/illinois-passes-law-requiring-its-public-universities-to-use-test-optional-admissions/
University Admissions Many Highly Selective Business Schools Remain GRE/GMAT-Optional for Fall 2022
https://poetsandquants.com/2021/01/10/top-100-mba-programs-that-are-now-waiving-gmat-gre-tests
Worth ReadingLessons From Obama-Duncan School “Reform” Failures
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/07/08/failure-obama-duncan-school-improvement-grants-and-its-lessons-today
Worth Reading New Book “The Wonder Test”
https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/books/review-the-wonder-test-is-a-beguiling-mix-of-the-speculative-and-the-familiar
Bob Schaeffer, Executive Director
FairTest: National Center for Fair & Open Testing
office-(239) 395-6773 mobile-(239) 699-0468
web-https://fairtest.org.org
email-bobschaeffer@fairtest.org