Testing Resistance & Reform News: May 19 – 25, 2021

Policy elites in Washington, D.C. and many state capitals may have decreed that it will be business-as-usual for standardized exams this year, but hundreds of thousands of parents and educators are responding with a resounding “No way!” Across the country, opt-out numbers are soaring to unprecedented highs and courageous teachers are refusing to play the testing game. In response, attentive policy makers are rolling back some of the most egregious assessment mandates. Keep the pressure on!

NationalAs Standardized Exams Resume, Large Numbers of Students Are Opting Out
https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/as-standardized-testing-returns-to-u-s-schools-large-numbers-are-opting-out/

National How the Media Covered the Rise and Fall of Common Core
https://kappanonline.org/common-core-media-coverage-loveless-russo/

AlabamaLegislature Supports Two-Year Delay in Implementing Third Grade Promotion Test
https://www.cbs42.com/alabama-news/lawmakers-delay-high-stakes-reading-test-for-3rd-graders/

ColoradoSuperintendents Endorse Audit of State Testing Accountability System
https://www.longmontleader.com/local-news/svvsd-seeks-state-school-accountability-system-audit-through-legislation-3788912

IndianaInitial State Exam Results Show Exactly What Educators Expected
https://in.chalkbeat.org/2021/5/21/22447362/ilearn-indiana-standardized-tests-results-spring-2021

MassachusettsLocal Educators Press State to Set Aside Tests Than Can Harm Kids
https://www.cambridgeday.com/2021/05/19/maybe-cambridge-educators-mcas-opposition-will-move-state-to-put-aside-test-that-can-harm/

Massachusetts Poll Shows Voters Want State Tests Cancelled
https://www.bostonherald.com/2021/05/20/massachusetts-residents-want-mcas-canceled-and-increased-state-education-funding-poll-shows/

Massachusetts Teachers Explain Why They Refuse to Proctor State Tests
https://www.cambridgeday.com/2021/05/24/why-we-refuse-to-proctor-mcas-this-year/

MichiganThird Grade Reading Retention Law Hurts Young Children
https://www.theoaklandpress.com/opinion/column-third-grade-reading-retention-law-hurts-michigan-students/article_cadd376e-ba96-11eb-9df0-8f56b53c22b5.html

MinnesotaProgram Identifies Students for Gifted Programs Without Standardized Exams
https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/education/7031655-Myers-Wilkins-Elementary-program-identifies-gifted-talented-students-of-all-ethnicities

New YorkMore Than Half of Long Island Students Opt Out of State Math Tests
https://www.newsday.com/long-island/education/opt-outs-analysis-math-tests-1.50253841

New York What We Gain By Taking Testing Off the Table
https://auburnpub.com/lifestyles/peachtown-what-we-gain-when-we-take-testing-off-the-table/article_26953485-4708-5056-a778-70b67e4cff28.html

TexasBill to Waive Graduation Test Requirement Passes State House But Hung Up in Senate
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2021/05/21/texas-seniors-who-failed-staar-cant-graduate-unless-lawmakers-act-soon/

VermontAnti-Racism Coalition Representative Testifies Against Standardized Testing
https://www.valleyreporter.com/index.php/news/local-news/15766-waarc-member-advocates-against-standardized-testing

VirginiaMore Parents Opting Children Out of State Tests
https://www.dnronline.com/news/rockingham_county/more-parents-opting-students-out-of-sol-tests/article_d3d19447-e159-5e12-bf3a-eff23a6b5c81.html

InternationalScotland’s Education Secretary Pressed to Cancel High School Tests
https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/its-not-too-late-new-education-secretary-urged-to-cancel-high-school-pupil-assessments-3246496

International Korean Test Prep Firm Raises $176 Million for New Artificial Intelligence Product Launch
https://www.reuters.com/technology/exclusive-korean-ai-tutor-riiid-raises-175-million-softbank-heads-public-schools-2021-05-24/

University AdmissionCollege Board Financial Clout
https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanpaterno/2021/05/21/dropping-sat-wont-diminish-college-board-clout/?sh=1b6cf0aa13cd

Worth ReadingA Memo From the Superintendent About Spring 2021 Testing . . . Not
https://themerrowreport.com/2021/05/19/a-memo-from-the-superintendent/

Bob Schaeffer, Executive Director
FairTest: National Center for Fair & Open Testing
office-(239) 395-6773 mobile-(239) 699-0468
web-https://fairtest.org.org

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