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Along with an ever-growing number of stories about successful assessment reform initiatives, we still see many disturbing reports of ongoing damage to students and educators from standardized exam misuse and overuse. Grassroots activists and their allies should feel free to contact FairTest for assistance with building winning local campaigns to replace testing overkill with authentic forms of assessment. 

Alabama Legislature Passes Grade Three Reading Retention Test Plan

There was no holiday in testing news during the past week -- both new standardized exam misuse outrages and more assessment reform progress.

Widespread controversy around the College Board's new "Adversity Score" for college applicants highlighted why relying on test results to make high-stakes educational decisions is bad policy.  See FairTest's reaction here:

With Washington's recent repeal of its graduation testing mandate, only eleven states still have exit exams. That's the lowest number in decades!  Check out FairTest's freshly updated fact sheet to see why so many jurisdictions have eliminated these counter-productive requirements  -- http://www.fairtest.org/graduation-test-update-states-recently-eliminated -- and use these arguments if your state still has a grad test.

Lots of progress this week in reducing (or eliminating!) the role of standardized tests in teacher evaluation plus huge opt-outs in New York and more test-optional admissions policy adoptions.  The grassroots assessment reform movement continues to grow -- and win -- across the U.S.

From opting out of tests to demonstrating at state capitals to implementing new polices, the assessment reform movement is winning more victories from coast to coast.  Check out the latest examples of the damage done by standardized exam overkill along with tools developed by effective campaigns for better alternatives in this week's clips.  Your friends and allies can sign up for this free service at:

How much more evidence do some policy-makers and their big-money donors need before they admit that high-stakes testing driven education "reform" is a failure?  This week's news clips provide more ammunition for activists fighting to replace standardized exam overkill with assessments that help improve learning and teaching -- as you will see, meaningful victories are increasingly common.

National Mismatch Between New Science Tests and Many States' Science Requirements

Testing reform stories from 20 states in just the past week demonstrate the breadth and depth of the movement to replace high-stakes, standardized exams with better forms of assessment.

As annual school tests get underway in more states, the pace of assessment reform action -- from opting out to pressing for legislation to roll back testing overkill -- continues to escalate.  Add in the fallout from the "Varsity Blues" college admissions scandal plus renewed interest in overhauling teacher licensing exam requirements and it's not surprising that the resources on

This is peak testing season for both public schools and college admissions, making it nearly impossible to keep up with all the news.  FairTest.org is seeing a sharp spike in visitors looking for information about opting out from state-mandated K-12 standardized exams (http://www.f