High Stakes Testing

Special Education Suit Targets ACT on Student Privacy
The lawsuit alleges that the testmaker "stigmatizes" student with disabilities by flagging their test scores for colleges.
Catherine Gewertz, August 21, 2018
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3 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
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Assessment Opinion We All Need to Get Smarter About Testing
What is “assessment literacy,” and why should we all care about it? Testing expert W. James Popham explains.
W. James Popham, July 31, 2018
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3 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act States Slow to Adopt ESSA's Testing Flexibility
Two years after the Every Student Succeeds Act passed, few seem eager to let districts give a nationally recognized college entrance exam in place of the state assessment for high school accountability.
Alyson Klein, January 17, 2018
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4 min read
Dobbs Elementary School in Atlanta was the epicenter of a 2007-2008 test cheating scandal that sunk the careers of dozens of educators and altered the education of tens of thousands of students. The plaque bears the name of Beverly Hall, the former superintendent, who was accused of being the ringleader of the cheating conspiracy, a charge she denied. Hall died in 2015 before standing trial.
Dobbs Elementary School in Atlanta was the epicenter of a 2007-2008 test cheating scandal that sunk the careers of dozens of educators and altered the education of tens of thousands of students. The plaque bears the name of Beverly Hall, the former superintendent, who was accused of being the ringleader of the cheating conspiracy, a charge she denied. Hall died in 2015 before standing trial.
Photos by Swikar Patel/Education Week
Law & Courts A Cheating Scandal Rocked Atlanta. Efforts to Help Affected Students Still Fall Short
After the largest cheating scandal in U.S. history, the district attempts to give extra support to some students who were impacted.
Corey Mitchell, December 18, 2017
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13 min read
Assessment Video The Aftermath of the Atlanta Test Cheating Scandal
Eleven Atlanta educators convicted of conspiracy in one of the nation’s largest cheating scandals are just now beginning their appeals, more than two years after they were sentenced to prison. Nearly 200 educators in Atlanta public schools were caught up in the scandal, suspected of erasing and correcting student answers on standardized tests, in order to boost scores. They were under enormous pressure from the federal No Child Left Behind law and from their own superintendent, Beverly Hall, who set targets even higher than the federal government. Thousands of students were impacted, and now, many years later, the district has set up a program to offer extra help to those students who remain in Atlanta public schools. We spoke with those at the heart of the case – an educator, the judge, the district attorney, and students who are about to graduate.
October 25, 2017
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9:26
The three contenders for governor in Indiana, Democrat John Gregg, left, Libertarian Rex Bell, center, and Republican Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb debate at Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis. Testing was prime topic in the square-off.
The three contenders for governor in Indiana, Democrat John Gregg, left, Libertarian Rex Bell, center, and Republican Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb debate at Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis. Testing was prime topic in the square-off.
Darron Cummings/AP
School & District Management Indiana Testing Woes Fuel Electoral Battles
Political heartburn continues in the Hoosier State over high-stakes assessments, with the issue spilling over into this year's contests for governor and state schools superintendent.
Daarel Burnette II, October 4, 2016
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6 min read
School & District Management Opinion Leadership Response to the Demand for Change
Leaders in this century must be leaders of change. In their discernment role, they must also determine the change to embrace and the one to resist.
Jill Berkowicz & Ann Myers, June 14, 2016
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5 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act Explainer The Every Student Succeeds Act: An ESSA Overview
2015's Every Student Succeeds Act rolls back much of the federal government's big footprint in education policy.
Alyson Klein, March 31, 2016
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7 min read
School & District Management Advocacy Group Slams States for Overtesting, Other Policies
Many states rely too heavily on standardized testing, open their doors too easily to charters and vouchers, and fall short in supporting teachers, the Network for Public Education says.
Daarel Burnette II, February 9, 2016
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3 min read
Seventh graders at Marshall Simonds Middle School in Burlington, Mass., look at a PARCC practice test to give them some familiarity with the format before field-testing in 2014 of the computer-based assessments aligned with the common core.
Seventh graders at Marshall Simonds Middle School in Burlington, Mass., look at a PARCC practice test to give them some familiarity with the format before field-testing in 2014 of the computer-based assessments aligned with the common core.
Gretchen Ertl for Education Week-File
Assessment PARCC Scores Lower for Students Who Took Exams on Computers
The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers acknowledged the discrepancies in scores between its paper and computer exams in response to questions from Education Week.
Benjamin Herold, February 3, 2016
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11 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act Test-Participation Mandate Puts States on Spot
Despite the rise of the testing opt-out movement, states are still on the hook to assure that 95 percent of eligible students take state exams in English/language arts and math.
Andrew Ujifusa, January 26, 2016
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6 min read
Misty Hatcher takes a break from computer class at Lanier Technical College in Oakwood, Ga. Hatcher recently enrolled in the college after a new state law allowed her to retroactively obtain the high school diploma that had been withheld from her for 10 years.
Misty Hatcher takes a break from computer class at Lanier Technical College in Oakwood, Ga. Hatcher recently enrolled in the college after a new state law allowed her to retroactively obtain the high school diploma that had been withheld from her for 10 years.
Melissa Golden for Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness States Move to Issue High School Diplomas Retroactively
Students who never passed the required high school exit exam are getting their diplomas under new laws passed in at least six states.
Catherine Gewertz, January 26, 2016
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6 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act Opt-Out Activists Aim to Build on Momentum in States
Though testing mandates remain under ESSA, those aiming to rein in assessments say the new law's flexibility for states may work to their advantage.
Andrew Ujifusa, January 14, 2016
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7 min read
Assessment PARCC Expands States' Options on Testing
States get the chance to buy only parts of the consortium's common-core-aligned tests, instead of the whole system, and can pick their own vendor.
Catherine Gewertz, November 17, 2015
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3 min read
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