The beginning of the end of our obsession with standardized ...

America has been obsessed with student standardized tests for nearly ... Still, the new federal law, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), ... AccessibilitystatementSkiptomaincontentSearchNavigationDemocracyDiesinDarknessSigninNextarticlesCoronaviruspandemicHealthFDAauthorizesNovavaxcoronavirusboostershotHealthWhitesnowmorelikelytodiefromcovidthanBlacks:Whythepandemicshif...OpinionsForChina,Xi’scoronaviruspolicyisagreatleapbackwardHealthXBB,BQ.1.1,BA.2.75.2—avariantswarmcouldfuelawintersurgeOpinionsHowcanweincreaseboosteruptake?Bytargetingthosewhoneedit.ByTheWayNextcovidwavecouldbeonacollisioncoursewithholidaytravelHealthCDCofficialsdescribeintensepressure,jobthreatsfromTrumpWhiteHouseAsiaFewsignsthatChinaistryingtoescapeits‘zerocovid’trapHealth‘Weareintrouble’:StudyraisesalarmaboutimpactsoflongcovidCoronavirusWhatyouneedtoknowaboutthelatestonlongcovidOpinionsYourquestionsaboutcovid-19,answeredbyDr.LeanaWenHealthExpertsslamFloridasurgeongeneral’swarningoncoronavirusvaccinesThePost'sView • OpinionAwinterpandemicwaveislooming.Getthebooster.OpinionsWhyAnthonyFauciisthegreatestpublicservantIhaveknownHealthPregnancycomplicationsspikedduringthepandemic.Nooneknowsexactlywh...HealthFewAmericansgetnewcovidboostershotaheadofprojectedwintersurgeOpinionsIsthepandemicover?Dr.LeanaWenansweredyourquestionsoncovid-19.GlobalOpinionsCanada’smaincovidlegacy?Right-wingpopulism.ByTheWayNorwegianCruiseLinedropscovidrulesforunvaccinatedpassengersThePost'sView • OpinionWhyrollthediceoncovid?Gettheboosteranddon’ttakethechance.ClockThisarticlewaspublishedmorethan 2yearsagoTheWashingtonPostDemocracyDiesinDarkness(iStock)(MichaelQuirk/iStock)CommentonthisstoryCommentGiftArticleShareAmericahasbeenobsessedwithstudentstandardizedtestsfornearly20years.Nowitlookslikethecountryisatthebeginningoftheendofourhigh-stakestestingmania—bothforK-12“accountability”purposesandincollegeadmissions.WpGetthefullexperience.ChooseyourplanArrowRightWhenPresidentGeorgeW.BushsignedtheK-12NoChildLeftBehindActin2002,thecountrybegananexperimentbasedonthebeliefthatwecouldtestourwaytoeducationalsuccessandendtheachievementgap.Hissuccessor,BarackObama,ratchetedupthestakesoftestscoresunderthatsamephilosophy.Itdidn’twork,whichcameasnosurprisetoteachersandothercritics.Theyhadlongpointedtoextensiveresearchshowingstandardizedtestscoresaremoststronglycorrelatedtoastudent’slifecircumstances.Realreform,theysaid,meansaddressingstudents’socialandemotionalneedsandtheconditionsinwhichtheylive,andmakingimprovementsinschoolbuildings.AdvertisementHighereducationwasnotimmunetothetestingfrenzy,either,atleastnotinadmissions.ScoresontheSATorACTbecameanimportantfactorindecidingwhowasaccepted.Collegerankings—ledbytheannuallistsofU.S.News&WorldReport,whichwereheavilyweightedontestscores—becamepowerfulasstudentsreliedonthemandschoolstriedtoimprovetheirrankingswithtargetedreforms.Scholarshipprogramswerelinkedtotestscores,andsomecompaniescheckedthescoresofpotentialhires.FloridaspentmillionsofdollarstogivebonusestoteacherswithhighSATscores—evendecadesafterthetestsweretaken.Now,weareseeingthecollapseofthetwo-decade-oldbipartisanconsensusamongmajorpolicymakersthattestingwasthekeyleverforholdingstudents,schoolsandteachers“accountable.”Anditisnocoincidencethatitishappeningagainstthebackdropofthecoronaviruspandemicthatforcededucationalinstitutionstorevamphowtheyoperate.Statesarelearningtheycanlivewithoutthem,havingbeengivenpermissionbytheDepartmentofEducationtonotgivethemthispastspring.Georgiahasalreadyannounceditsintentiontogetawaiverfor2020-21,too.AdvertisementAtsunamiofcollegesanduniversitieshavedroppedtherequirementforanACTorSATscoreforatleastayear.Thehugeorganizationsthatownthetests,ACTInc.andtheCollegeBoard,areclearlystrugglinginthenewenvironment.Evenhigh-stakeslawexamsarestartingtobewaived.Washingtonstate’sSupremeCourtjustdecidedtoallowgraduatesfromAmericanBarAssociation-accreditedlawschoolswhowereregisteredtotakethebarexaminJulyorSeptembertobelicensedwithoutpassingthetest.Thewinningargumentwasthatitwouldbetoodifficultformanystudentstostudyforandtaketheexamduringthepandemic.Thejusticesmusthavethoughttheeducationandgradesthestudentsreceivedinlawschoolweregoodenough.Politically,too,thestarsseemalignedforaseriousde-escalationoftesting.PresidentTrumphasneverbeenaloudadvocateforstandardizedtestingandhasrepeatedlysaidhiseducationpriorityisexpandingalternativestopublicschooldistricts.Hiseducationsecretary,BetsyDeVos,hasnotbeenatestingproponenteither,withhereyeinsteadonexpandingschool“choice.”AdvertisementFormervicepresidentJoeBiden,whoisthepresumptiveDemocraticpresidentialnomineeandaheadofTrumpinmanypolls,hastriedtodistancehimselffromthepro-testingpoliciesoftheObamaadministration.HewasnotacheerleaderoftestingduringObama’stwotermsandhassaidrecentlyheisopposedtohigh-stakestesting.That’snotapromisethathewillworktoreduceit,butitisapromisingsuggestion.Noneofthismeansstandardizedtestingwillstop,oreventhateverystateanddistrictwillcutback,orthatallcollegesanduniversitieswillstoprequiringanSATorACTscoretoapply.Butherearesomedevelopmentsinthetestingworldthatshowthatmorepolicymakersunderstandtestscan’tfixproblemsinschools—andthatschoolsalonecan’tfixthenation’sproblems.K-12Thispastspring,K-12schooldistrictsacrossthecountrydidsomethingthatfornearlytwodecadeshadbeendeemedunthinkable.AdvertisementWithpermissionfromtheEducationDepartment,theycanceledannualhigh-stakesstandardizedtestingafterthecovid-19crisisupendedthelastseveralmonthsoftheschoolyear.Millionsofstudentswereathome,learningremotelyeitheronpaperoronscreens.Andstateleadersrealizeditwasn’tplausibleorfairtogivestudentsthetests.OhioGov.MikeDeWine(R)madethepointthat“theworldwillnotcometoanend”ifthefederallymandatedtestsweren’tgiven—thoughforyears,federalandstatepolicymakershadactedasifitwould.Statesrequirestudentstotakestandardizedtestsfordifferentpurposes.SometestsaremandatedbyK-12law,andwhilethatdidn’tstartwithNoChildLeftBehind(NCLB),itusheredinthehigh-stakestestingerainwhichpunishmentsweremetedouttoschoolsandteachersbasedonhowwellstudentsperformedontheexams.Itdidn’tmatterthattestingexpertsrepeatedlywarnedthatusingscoresforthesepurposeswasnotvalidorreliable.AdvertisementStatesgivestandardizedtests,too,forreasonsincludingthird-graderetention,highschoolgraduation,andend-of-courseexams.Atwo-yearstudyreleasedin2015revealedthatkidswerebeingforcedtotaketoomanymandatedstandardizedtests—andthattherewasnoevidencethataddingtestingtimewasimprovingstudentachievement.TheaveragestudentinAmerica’sbig-citypublicschoolswasthentakingsome112mandatorystandardizedtestsbetweenprekindergartenandtheendof12thgrade—anaverageofabouteightayear,thestudysaid.Thosewereontopofteacher-writtentests.ThepurportedgoalofNCLB—writtenwiththeinputofnotasinglepublicschoolteacher—wastoensurethatmarginalizedcommunitieswerenotignoredbylookingattestscoresbystudentsubgroupsandtargetinghelpwhereitwasneeded.SchoolsconcentratedonmathandEnglishsostudentscouldpasstheexamswhilegivingshortshriftto,oreliminating,classesinhistory,science,art,music,physicaleducationandothersubjects.PubliceducationadvocateshopedObamawouldstopthecountry’sobsessionwithstandardizedtestsandaddressinequitybakedintothefundingsystem.Hisadministrationinsteadheightenedtheimportanceofthetestscoresbydanglingfederalfundsinfrontofstatesthatagreedtoevaluateteachersthroughtheexamresults.Statesdevelopedcockamamieschemestodothis,includinggradingteachersonstudentstheydidn’thaveandsubjectstheydidn’tteach.Howisthisfair?Artteacherisevaluatedbystudents’mathstandardizedtestscoresAgrass-rootsefforttogettheadministrationtochangecoursetookhold,andsomestatestriedtofindwaystocutbackonlocaltesting.Butthen-EducationSecretaryArneDuncanmicromanagededucationpolicysomuchthatthedepartmentwasderidedasa“nationalschoolboard,”andCongress,inlate2015—eightyearsafteritwassupposedto—passedasuccessorlawthatsentpolicymakinglargelybacktothestates.AdvertisementByearly2016,Obamaandhissecondeducationsecretary,JohnB.KingJr.,saidkidswere,afterall,over-tested.Still,thenewfederallaw,theEveryStudentSucceedsAct(ESSA),mandatedthesametestingregime,andstateswerestillspendingmillionsofdollarseachyearontestingprograms.Ostensibly,thetestswouldprovidedatatoschoolsaboutwhatstudentshadlearnedandhoweffectiveteacherswere.Butresearchstudyafterstudyshowedthatthehighestcorrelationwasbetweenthescoresandwhetherachildlivedinpoverty.ThisallmadeDeWine’sstatementabouttheworldnotcomingtoanendiftestsweresuspendedforayearanunusualadmission.OnJune18,GeorgiaGov.BrianKemp(R)madeitclearhedoesn’tthinkmissingtwoyearsofstandardizedtestingisabigproblem,either.AdvertisementThispastspring,DeVosgaveallstatesaone-yearwaivertosuspendthefederallymandatedtesting.KempannouncedthathisstatewouldbethefirsttoseekasecondtestingwaiverfromtheEducationDepartment,thistimeforthesoon-to-start2020-21schoolyear.Otherstatesarelikelytofollowsuitamidsomuchuncertaintyaboutthetrajectoryofthepandemic.Kempalsosaidthatthe“currenthigh-stakestestingregimeisexcessive,”andpromisedtokeeppushinganinitiativeinthestatelegislaturetoeliminatefourofeightend-of-courseexamsrequiredforhighschoolstudents,andanotherstandardizedtestgiveninmiddleschool.Georgiaisn’ttheonlystatethatisnowmovingtocutbackonstandardizedtesting.InlateMay,theOhioHouseofRepresentativespassedlegislationtoreducestandardizedtesting.AdvertisementWhatcouldmakethisefforttocuttestingdifferentfromearlieronesaretheoutsidecircumstances.Becauseofthepandemic,statesandschooldistrictsarefacingpotentiallyunprecedentedbudgetdeficits—andschoolspendinginsomestateshasstillnotrecoveredfromtheGreatRecessionof2007-2009.Becausetestingprogramsareextremelyexpensive,statescoulddecidethecostsaren’tworththedubiousresults.Manyteacherssaytheydon’tneedstandardizedteststohelpthemassesswherestudentsareintheirlearning.Addtothattheeffectsofthenationaluprisingforracialjustice,sparkedbythedeathinpolicecustodyofGeorgeFloyd,anunarmedblackmaninMinneapolis.Protestersinthestreetsarelookingforjusticenotonlyinpolicingandthecourts.Theyalsowantsocial,economicandeducationaljustice.Thougheducatorshavelongknownthatstudentsneedmorethanteststothriveandthatschoolsmustaddressmorethanacademics,thereisanewawarenessamongthepeoplewhomakepolicy.Spendingmountainsofmoneyforinequitabletestingaccountabilitysystemsisn’tcompatiblewithcallsformoreholisticwaysofeducatingandhelpingstudentsgrowandthrive.CollegeadmissionsOnthehighereducationfront,thepandemicalsointerruptedtheSAT/ACTcollegeadmissionstestingjuggernaut.Withexamdayscanceledandaspiringcollegestudentsgettingfranticaboutnothavingascoretoaddtotheirapplications,manycollegesanduniversitiessaidtheywoulddroptheirrequirementsforanSATorACTtestscoreforadmissioninfall2021.Tobesure,a“test-optional”movementhadbeenbuildingforyears.AnonprofitgroupcalledtheNationalCenterforFairandOpenTesting(FairTest),whichoperatedonashoestringbudgetwithamissiontoendthemisuseofstandardizedtests,workedwithtestingcriticsandcompiledalistofcollegesanduniversitiesthathaddroppedtheuseofACTorSATscoresforadmissions.Hundredsofschoolshadalreadydoneso,asresearchshowedthetestscoreswerelinkedtosocio-economicfactorsandnotpredictiveofcollegesuccess,despitecounterstatementsbytheCollegeBoardandACTInc.Thenthepandemichit.Schoolsshutdownandcollegestudentswenthometofinishtheirsemestersvirtually.Thetwotestinggiantscanceledrepeatedadministrationsoftheirexams,losingmillionsofdollarsandmakingitdifficultformanystudentstogetascorerequiredbymostinstitutionsofhighereducation.Theinevitablehappened:Collegesanduniversitiesannouncedsuspensionsoftestingrequirementsfor2020-21.Somesaidtheywouldnotrequiretestsforafewyearsasanexperimenttoseehowtheadmissionsprocesswoulddowithoutthem.Then,inMay,inwhatwascalledaseminaleventincollegeadmissions,theUniversityofCaliforniasystemannounceditwouldphaseoutSAT/ACTtestingrequirementsoverseveralyears,withsomemembersoftheBoardofRegentssayingthetestswerenothelpfulincreatingdiversestudentbodiesandonememberlabelingthem“racist.”Theprestigioussystemhaslongbeenaforceinpublichighereducation,anditsdecisionisexpectedtoinfluenceotherschools.UniversityofCaliforniaacademicsatoddswitheachotheroverusingSAT/ACTscorestoadmitstudentsBymid-June,everyIvyLeagueschoolhadagreedtodropSAT/ACTrequirementsforstudentsenteringinthefallof2020.FairTest’slistincludesmorethan1,250schoolsthatinsomewayallowstudentsleewayinincludingtestscoresontheirapplications,albeitsomeofthemjustfor2020-21.(Thelistincludesfor-profitschools.)TheCollegeBoardandACThavebeenstrugglingduringthepandemic.BothwereforcedtocancelmultipleadministrationsoftheSATandACT,losingmillionsofdollarsandleavingmanystudentsfearfultheywouldn’thaveascoreforapplications.Bothpromisedtheywouldofferat-homeexamsthisfallifnecessary,buttheCollegeBoardbackedoffafteritsexperimentwithat-homeAdvancedPlacementtests.ThoughmoststudentshadnoproblemtakingtheAPtests,thousandsdid,andtheCollegeBoarddecidednottotryanat-homeSAT.TheACTsaiditwillgoahead,buttheIowa-basedorganizationhasotherproblems.InMay,ACTchiefexecutiveMartenRoorda,whoaggressivelylobbiedagainsttheUCdecision,losthisjob.Atthesametime,ACTannounceditwastaking“aseriesofcost-cuttingmeasures,”includingnoraisesandcutsinfringebenefits.MeanwhilestudentstryinginMaytosignupforfutureACTandSATexams,shouldtheybegiven,ranintoonlinetrouble.TestinggiantsACTandCollegeBoardstruggleamidcovid-19pandemicThefutureThefundamentalnotionthatstandardizedtestingisaneffectivewayofgaugingstudentachievementisbeingchallengedmorestronglythanever.SomeK-12schoolswillcontinuetousetheseexamsextensively,seeingthemasavaluabletool,includinginFlorida,whereformergovernorJebBush(R)pioneeredhigh-stakesaccountabilitytestingandstillhasinfluenceineducationpolicy.Andmanycollegesanduniversitieswillrequireadmissionstestscores,seeingthemasausefuldatapointinmakingdecisionsonwhomtoadmit.Butthecombinationofthepandemic,theuprisinganddisillusionmentwiththetestingindustry—whichhasbeenbuildingamongteachers,parentsandstudentsforyears—pointstoanewchapterforpubliceducation,or,atleast,thebeginningoftheendofourobsessionwithhigh-stakesstandardizedtests.Whatwouldareasonabletestingsystemlooklike?HereisaproposalfromFairTest,withelementsembracedbymanyeducators:LimitstatestandardizedtestrequirementstonomorethantheminimumrequiredbyESSA(onceeachinreadingandmathingrades3-8,plusonceinhighschool,aswellasonesciencetesteachinelementary,middleandhighschool)—atotalof17duringastudent’spublicschoolcareer.Thismeanseliminatingstandardizedexamsinothersubjectsandgradelevelsthatstates(ordistricts)mighthavepiledontopoffederalmandates.Seekfederalwaiveroftestingrequirements,atleastforthe2020-2021schoolyearbutpreferablyforalongerperiod.Suspendtestadministrationsandallassociated“accountability”measures.Terminatehigh-stakesconsequencesthatrelyontestscoresforstudents(gradepromotiontests,exitexams,course/programplacement),teachers(bonuses,jobratings),andschools/districts(simplisticgradingsystems).Protectyoungchildrenbybanningmassstandardizedtestingbeforegrade3.Enforcetestingtransparencyandenhancepublicoversight.Makequestionsandanswersfrompreviouslyadministeredexamsavailableforreviewbystudents,parents,teachers,journalistsandotherstakeholders.Requiretest-makerstodiscloseallstudiesoftheirexams’technicalqualities,includingvalidity,reliability,andlikelyimpactsoncurriculumandinstruction.Developandimplementperformance-basedassessmentsystemsthatenhanceacademicqualityandequitybyfocusingonimprovementsinstudentworkdoneovertime.Readmore:Arguablythetwomostappallingstoriesaboutthestandardizedtestingobsessionofthe2010s(Correction:EarlierversionsaidstudentswerehavingtroubleregisteringonlineforAPandSATtests.ItisACT,notAP.)CommentsGiftOutlineGiftArticleViewmoreLoading...TOPSTORIESReadThisOurbookcriticshelpyoufindnewauthorsorgenrestodiveinto.WashingtonPostpaperbackbestsellersCormacMcCarthy’s‘ThePassenger’isastrangerideintodarknessWashingtonPosthardcoverbestsellersRefreshTryadifferenttopicSigninorcreateafreeaccounttosaveyourpreferences