Standardized tests will no longer ask 3rd-graders to reveal a secret
State education officials will no longer use a standardized test question that asked third-graders to reveal a secret and write about why it was difficult to keep, the…
Assessments
Teacher on flawed tests: ‘We can ill-afford to be silent while our very jobs are at stake’
I received the following email from a New York State math teacher, says Valerie Strauss, columnist for the Washington Post.
Guess when this warning about testing was written
The following, published in an American newspaper, warns about the dangers of attaching high stakes to standardized test results and about the growing dependence on these assessments in…
Facing a robo-grader? Just keep obfuscating mellifluously
A recently released study has concluded that computers are capable of scoring essays on standardized tests as well as human beings do, the New York Times reports. Mark…
Watch: Teacher rap video at Jennings High School in Missouri gets students pumped for standardized tests
Standardized tests are getting tougher, and it's getting increasingly harder to motivate students to put forth the time and effort needed to prepare for success on those exams,…
Need some AP test prep? These $40 apps may help
High school students at more than 18,000 schools are preparing for May's Advanced Placement exams, which bestow college credit upon high scorers, Mashable reports.
Parents, educators want more from assessment
Thanks to the federal No Child Left Behind Act, K-12 educators are spending more time than ever before on testing their students' skills—but is all this testing doing…
NYC schools drops list of test topics to avoid
New York City's Department of Education has decided to drop its list of words to avoid on school assessment tests, the Associated Press reports.
Could you pass the 8th grade by today’s testing standards?
As Texas students started taking a new state-mandated test this week, districts across the state have gradually signed on to a resolution that says high-stakes standardized tests are…
NYC bans Halloween, birthdays, aliens and more on school tests
Students in New York City's public schools cramming for tests can delete words like birthdays, junk food, Halloween, dinosaur and even dancing from study lists, NBC reports.
Tighter security for SAT, ACT in wake of cheating
The millions of students who take the SAT or ACT each year will have to submit photos of themselves when they sign up for the college entrance exams,…
New software facilitates assessment and data management
During recent ed-tech conferences, a number of companies introduced software intended to make assessment and data management easier for schools.
Indiana school principals’ certification exam to be overhauled
Indiana is poised to dramatically overhaul the way it determines whether educators are qualified to become principals, according to the Hechinger Report.
How retaking the SAT changed test prep tutor’s view
During the week before each SAT test date, I meet with each of my students to go over last minute pointers. We review content and strategy, we discuss…
States to launch ‘IT readiness’ tool for common assessments
As two state consortia work to create next-generation common assessments to help make testing more meaningful for students and teachers, a new tool will launch later this month…
Most students who should be taking the tests aren’t
While more high school students are taking the Advanced Placement exams -- and succeeding on them -- most students who should be taking the exams aren't, the Huffington…
iPads help charge reading instruction
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In Texas, a backlash against student testing
It is a precarious time for Texas school districts. Faced with roughly $5.4 billion less in state financing, districts this year will administer new, more rigorous state exams…
No-Zero grading policy requires retesting opportunities for failing students
Lowndes County Schools students in Georgia can relax a little--3rd through 8th graders can no longer receive zeros on assignments, the Huffington Post reports.
Toddlers subjected to palm-reading assessments in China
Several kindergartens in a province in northern China are charging parents 1,200 yuan ($190) for a palm-reading test that they claim can predict their toddlers' intelligence and potential,…
Tips for making the move to online assessments
As states move toward implementing online assessments in 2014, a panel of experts agreed that school technology leaders must ensure that districts have the capacity, manpower, and foresight…
Century-old 8th-grade exam: Can you pass a 1912 test?
Here’s a copy of the eighth-grade exam used in schools in Bullitt County, Ky., in 1912. It was recently donated to the Bullitt County History Museum, which is…
Students in Illinois may have to take the ACT twice
Illinois educators are warning high school juniors that the decision earlier this year to cut the writing portion from the ACT exams administered in public schools could require…
‘National Opt Out Day’ rejects standardized tests
Last year, stress about Pennsylvania's state standardized tests caused third grader John Michael Rosenblum to start scratching himself so hard in his sleep that he bled. That's when…
Study: Once-a-year teacher evaluations not enough
Once-a-year evaluations aren't enough to help teachers improve, says a report by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Grade students according to their weight, says celebrity diet guru
Overweight school pupils should be penalised by giving extra marks to slim students, celebrity diet guru Pierre Dukan has said, the Huffington Post reports.
Project aims for national standard in music education
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10 years of assessing students with scientific exactitude
In the last decade, we have emerged from the Education Stone Age. No longer must we rely on primitive tools like teachers and principals to assess children’s academic…
States move away from exit exams, shift toward college-readiness
Fewer states are requiring students to pass high school exit exams to graduate, but more states are increasing standardized testing in college- and career-readiness assessment efforts, according to…
When an adult took standardized tests forced on kids
A longtime friend on the school board of one of the largest school systems in America did something that few public servants are willing to do. He took…
Are the SAT and ACT overrated?
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With online testing on the horizon, infrastructure could be a challenge
With new online tests being designed to reflect the Common Core standards, school districts in at least 45 states will have to replace pencil-and-paper testing with the new…
Report: Publishing teacher ratings will hinder reform
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Eleven arrested in connection with alleged SAT cheating scam
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‘Exemplary’ elementary school skipped science, social studies for third graders
Third-graders at a Dallas elementary school helped propel their school to “exemplary” status, but unbeknownst to their parents, those stellar ... Read more
How higher-performing schools made it onto the ‘low-achieving’ list
Several dozen elementary schools with scores higher than the state's target for academic success have been placed on a list of 1,000 "low-achieving schools." Being on the list…
Opinion: Is the SAT the best way to spend a Saturday?
Admissions officers are charged by our institutions with the recruitment and selection of the students who will most enrich our respective collegiate communities, says Martha Allman, dean of…
Ohio performance assessment pilot program graded teacher performances
Even though Ohio Issue 2 (Senate Bill 5) failed in last week's election, that does not mean merit-based pay is no longer a possibility for Ohio teachers, Yahoo!…
Complex new Florida teacher evaluations tied to student test scores
At Coral Reef Senior High, calculus teacher Orlando Sarduy understands complicated formulas, and knows he will be graded on how his students perform on tests. But despite his…
Principals rebel against ‘value-added’ evaluation
Scores of public school principals in New York are fighting the state’s new educator evaluation system, which ties the evaluations and pay of teachers and principals to how…