other

This week's top stories include several about Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools (AROS) "Walk-Ins" around the country. The coordinated events included a strong call to end high-stakes tests to make time for more teaching and learning.

National School Testing Opponents Plan Next Steps
http://www.wsj.com/articles/school-testing-opponents-plan-next-steps-147...
National Assessment Matters: Constructing Model State Systems to Replace Testing Overkill
http://fairtest.org/assessment-matters-constructing-model-state-system

The wide range of stories in this week's news clips show the growing breadth and depth of the grassroots testing resistance and reform movement. Parents, students, educators and community leaders are all pushing for fewer standardized exams, an end to high-stakes testing, and better assessments based on classroom performance. 

Topping this week's news: more jurisdictions roll back graduation exams, another state's computer testing system collapses, and activists across the country press for more assessment reforms at the same time test-and-punish advocates push for even more counter-productive tests.

National More States Abolish or Suspend Graduation Tests
www.fairtest.org/graduation-test-update-states-recently-eliminated

Alaska Many Inaccuracies on State-Mandated School Readiness Test

The 2016-2017 academic year is barely underway, but grassroots assessment reform pressure is already producing positive changes in both K-12 schools and university admission policies.

Remember that back issues of these weekly updates are archived at: http://fairtest.org/news/other -- friends and colleagues can sign up at: http://fairtest.org/weekly-news-signup

National ESSA Raises Stakes in 2016 State Elections
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/09/14/essa-raises-k-12-stakes-in-...
National Opt-Out Movement Continues to Grow

This week's news clips reinforce the trend summarized in FairTest's new report "Testing Reform Victories 2016."  The upcoming academic year will feature fewer tests with reduced consequences attached to them along with an initial wave of improved assessment systems encouraged by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act.  Obviously, the grassroots testing resistance and reform movement has much, much more to do . . .  but we are beginning to make real progress in changing public policy.

With school doors opening across the country, there's a surge of stories critiquing the value of test scores and examining potential assessment reforms. If you have colleagues or friends who would benefit from receiving these weekly news clip summaries, please encourage them to sign up at:  http://fairtest.org/weekly-news-signup

"Less Testing, No High-Stakes, Better Assessments" -- that's the core message parents, educators and community leaders are effectively delivering to policymakers as a new school year begins across the nation.  Look for a forthcoming FairTest report on "Testing Reform Victories 2015-2016" summarizing recent successes.

Alaska State Seeking Bids for New Test After Exam Administration Failure
http://www.adn.com/alaska-news/education/2016/08/23/alaska-education-dep...

The back-to-school agenda for the growing, national assessment reform movement is straight-forward: cut the volume of standardized testing; eliminate high-stakes exam misuses; encourage alternative accountability systems. Campaigns are already having an impact in many states.

The pace of assessment reform news quickens as the 2016-2017 academic year begins to unfold across the U.S.  In addition to revitalizing many ongoing controversies, a new issue in many jurisdictions is how much testing flexibility will be allowed under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act.  Grassroots activists are actively campaigning to reduce the number of required standardized exams, eliminate high-stakes test misuses, and create more opportunities to develop better ways of assessing student learning.

FairTest hopes that these news summaries, which now go to several thousand activists, educators and policymakers each week, provide useful material for your assessment reform work.