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The drumbeat of criticism documenting the negative fallout from test-driven education policies grows ever louder. With each passing school day, more parents, teachers, administrators and community leaders recognize the damage being inflicted on educational quality and equity.  It's time for policymakers to pay attention . . . or be replaced!

California Assigning Single Grade to Every School Is Too Simplistic

Grade retention and diploma denials are among the worst politically motivated misuses of standardized tests.  That's why assessment reform activists have made repealing these counter-productive policies a top priority.  Check out these FairTest fact sheets for ammunition to use in your local campaigns.

As evidence of the many failures of test-driven school "reform" continues to mount, more parents, educators, and community leaders are organizing effective campaigns to roll back standardized exam misuse and overuse. Use these models to build victories in your home state.  

Though classrooms have not even opened for the fall semester in many parts of the country, activists are already posting victories -- often won with support from FairTest -- that will overhaul school testing policies.

The new school year is shaping up to be a pivotal period for the assessment reform movement. Already, a spate of stories have appeared documenting new policies that roll back some of the worst cases of testing overkill. And there's much more coverage of the damage being done to educational quality and equity by the fixation on standardized exams.

National Flawed Computer Algorithms Are Grading Millions of Students Essay Exams

Big news this week: New York State, whose "Regents Exams" are often cited as a model for other state assessment programs, is rethinking its graduation test requrement.  With increasing grassroots pressure from parents, students, educators and community activists during the new school year, even more jurisdictions will roll back standardized exam misuse and overuse.

California Why IQ Tests Are Banned for Black Children Across the State

Believe it or not, a new public school year begins in less than two weeks in several states!  Fortunately, testing reformers have not been relaxing over the "summer vacation."  Parents, educators, students, and community activists are ready to promote better assessment systems and fight schemes to impose even more high-stakes standardized exams. Check out this week's news .  .  .

There's no "summer vacation" for assessment reformers -- in response to ongoing pressure from grassroots activists, more and more policymakers in many states are backing away from test-and-punish policies that undermine educational quality and equal opportunity. 

This week's edition is jam-packed with stories about both the flaws of relying on standardized exams to make high-stakes educational decisions as well as successful campaigns to roll back testing misuse and overuse.

If you find these updates helpful, note that FairTest has changed its online donation provider to PayPal, so that you can support our assessment reform leadership, including these news compilations, more easily and without any service charges.