Standardized Testing

Education news, analysis, and opinion about assessments that allow for comparisons across students and groups of students
Photo of students taking exam on laptops.
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Assessment Q&A Q&A: Top NAEP Official Talks About the Future of Nation's Report Card and More
Statistics commissioner Peggy Carr says persistent chronic absenteeism is partly to blame for historically low test scores.
Sarah D. Sparks, September 11, 2023
5 min read
Arial view of a classroom of lined desks where a diverse group of high school students are working with pens, pencils, and paper.
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Assessment States Eye Assessment Throughout the Year as Frustration With Standardized Testing Mounts
Some states are working to transition to through-year testing models in an effort to make standardized tests more relevant to educators.
Libby Stanford, September 7, 2023
6 min read
Image is teenagers taking a test
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Assessment From Our Research Center Educators Feel Growing Pressure for Students to Perform Well on Standardized Tests
Many say they feel more pressure now than before the pandemic to ensure students perform well on the annual, state-required exams.
Libby Stanford, September 1, 2023
4 min read
Illustration of papers and magnifying glass
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Assessment Q&A Picking an Interim Assessment? Do This First, Say School Leaders
Two district leaders explain how they evaluate interim assessments—and why having access to external reviews would be "huge."
Sarah Schwartz, July 31, 2023
5 min read
Young people around the planet earth, chatting in foreign languages with their digital devices showing the word hello in different languages within speech bubbles.
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English-Language Learners Improving Assessments for English Learners: Advice From Experts
There are better, more accurate ways to gauge English learners' academic progress, researchers say.
Ileana Najarro, June 27, 2023
3 min read
Image is teenagers taking a test
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Assessment A District Is Happy It Made This Standardized Testing Change
One Mississippi district jumped through hoops to switch to a set of tests its teachers think will help students become independent learners.
Alyson Klein, June 5, 2023
4 min read
Image of a clock, calendar, and a pencil.
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Assessment NAEP Results Are Often Politicized. Could Rescheduling It Help?
Administering NAEP in non-election years will shield it from further politicization, the board that oversees it said.
Evie Blad, May 22, 2023
3 min read
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Social Studies Understanding the Sharp Drop in History and Civics NAEP Scores: 4 Things to Know
Knowing about these trends in social studies education helps put the new NAEP results in context.
Sarah Schwartz, May 4, 2023
6 min read
Illustration of a book, a globe, and a compass.
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Social Studies Opinion How To Fix the Shockingly Low NAEP History and Civic Scores
We need more civics and history in literacy lessons and more deliberate literacy instruction in civics and history, argues Susan Pimentel.
Susan Pimentel, May 3, 2023
5 min read
Photo of students taking exam on laptops.
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Student Achievement History Achievement Falls to 1990s Levels on NAEP; Civics Scores Take First-Ever Dive
Eighth graders' scores in U.S. history and civics dropped on the test known as the “Nation’s Report Card."
Sarah Schwartz, May 3, 2023
8 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
Assessment Letter to the Editor State Exams Offer Pathways for Some—Not All—Learners
A parent writes a letter to the editor detailing her child's experience with state exams in New York.
April 25, 2023
1 min read
Image of students taking a test.
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Assessment The Feds Gave States the Chance to Create Better Standardized Tests. There Were Few Takers
While many states were initially excited about the flexibility, they had second thoughts when they looked more closely at the details.
Alyson Klein, April 19, 2023
4 min read
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This May 8, 1964 file photo shows Linda Brown Smith standing in front of the Sumner School in Topeka, Kan. The refusal of the public school to admit Brown in 1951, then nine years old, because she is black, led to the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the "separate but equal" clause and mandated that schools nationwide must be desegregated.
This May 8, 1964 file photo shows Linda Brown Smith standing in front of the Sumner School in Topeka, Kan. The refusal of the public school to admit Brown in 1951, then nine years old, because she is black, led to the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the "separate but equal" clause and mandated that schools nationwide must be desegregated.
AP Photo
Equity & Diversity Educational Inequality: 4 Moments in History That Explain Where We Are Today
A new Columbia University report highlights how inequality was embedded in the creation of public education in the United States.
Ileana Najarro, March 20, 2023
5 min read