In 2020, Rick Hess and Pedro Noguera engaged in a long-running correspondence that tackled many of the biggest questions in education -- including topics like school choice, equity and diversity, testing, privatization, the achievement gap, social and emotional learning, and civics. They sought to unpack their disagreements, better understand one…

Largely led by parents of school-age children from around the country, the opt-out movement has gained momentum in resisting the overuse of standardized testing. The author, a teacher educator, former K-12 teacher, and parent, argues that the opt-out movement is raising awareness regarding standardized testing and opening the door toward policy…

In recent years, the federal government (under Republican and Democratic administrations alike) has encouraged the outsourcing of core parts of public education's work, including testing and test preparation, teaching and tutoring, data collection, and human resources management. However, researchers have found little evidence to support policy…

The 2020 PDK Poll of the Public's Attitude Toward the Public Schools finds that more than half of adults consider public education highly important in their choice for president. And regardless of political party, most Americans agree that the administration in Washington should focus on attracting and retaining good teachers to the profession and…

The National Urban League president and CEO Marc H. Morial weighs in on what he sees as the need for continued annual assessments of students, rejecting the course of opting out that has taken hold in some places across America. Assessment data provides students with the opportunity to receive personalized supports and necessary interventions to…

Given the primary role of teachers in affecting student achievement, U.S. policy makers and reformers have increasingly focused on monitoring and evaluating teacher effectiveness by emphasizing the links to student learning outcomes. Large-scale international assessments are frequently used as base examples to justify reform. But, relatively…

The professional literature is filled with criticism of standardized testing, and the belief is that most teachers oppose standardized testing because it forces them to abandon creative lesson plans in exchange for test prep. However, a study of Arkansas teachers found that teachers also have positive views of testing. The teachers reported that…

High-stakes testing is the practice of attaching important consequences to standardized test scores, and it is the engine that drives the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. The rationale for high-stakes testing is that the promise of rewards and the threat of punishments will cause teachers to work more effectively, students to be more motivated,…

Discusses advantages and disadvantages of norm-referenced and criterion-referenced tests. (JF)

Why do creative teachers who want to help all their students learn in meaningful ways have to use high-pressure testing methods that work against that goal? The authors propose a system of testing that serves the need for evaluation while contributing to students' intellectual and social growth. (Contains 7 endnotes.)

Many of us have an intuitive understanding of physics that works surprisingly well to guide everyday action, but we would not attempt to send a rocket to the moon with it. Unfortunately, the authors argue, our policy makers are not as cautious when it comes to basing our school accountability system on intuitive test theory. Intuitive physics…

An examination of statistical weaknesses and test limitations of performance contracting. (Author)

Upper elementary teachers won't be surprised to learn that in every state, students enrolled in grades 3 through 8 bear the brunt of educational accountability. All states test all students at these grade levels in English/language arts and mathematics. Furthermore, an increasing number of states are testing students at selected elementary and…

Since the days of the reform movements of the 1980s and 1990s, standardized testing has increased greatly in the public schools. The problem has become particularly acute in the wake of the testing mandated for accountability under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. States simply can not afford to jeopardize their federal funding. This article…