While data gained via standardized tests like NJASK may be extremely helpful, especially when paired with other data points, the over-emphasis on such testing is a classic example of how state and federal mandates are threatening to completely bypass local control.
Testing
5/16/2013
S.C high school students would no longer have to pass an exit exam to graduate if a state House bill becomes law – welcome news for the thousands of students who struggle year after year to pass both the test’s math and English sections.
5/15/2013
What makes the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) inappropriate as a tool for 4K students? The test takes a minimum of 45 minutes of one-on-one testing per child. It has no applicability to children who are learning English. Centers will “teach to the test.”
5/14/2013
High schools in Seattle won’t have to give the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) tests starting next fall, the latest development in the testing controversy that has drawn national attention after starting in January at Garfield High School.
5/12/2013
Ignoring a problem has never made it go away. But that’s exactly what some are suggesting Gov. Paul LePage and the Maine Department of Education do after our new A-F grade system was announced last week.
5/6/2013
The proliferation of cellphones and their potential use for cheating has prompted heightened security measures on this year's administration of standardized tests in California schools.
5/6/2013
Two decades ago, Texas became ground zero for the accountability movement in public education. Now, after a revolt by teachers and parents who claim that high-stakes testing is ruining classroom instruction, the legislature is poised to undo many of its own reforms. Does anyone have the right answer?
5/5/2013
The Lexington Herald-Leader reports the Education Department sent an email to testing coordinators on Saturday saying that ACT Inc. was suspending the online system on Monday.
5/1/2013
They may have answered more questions right than they did last year, but the state has changed scoring standards, and many may have found that their rating dropped from "advanced" to "proficient," or "proficient" to "basic."
4/30/2013
School testing came to a halt statewide early Monday because the CTB/McGraw-Hill testing company servers in New Jersey crashed around 9 a.m., state education officials said.
4/29/2013
Multiple Indiana schools are suspending ISTEP+ testing for the day after students experienced problems with the testing website. “Kids are getting kicked out of their testing procedure, then when we try to get them back in, there are long waits,” says Brad Schuldt, superintendent of Culver Community Schools.
4/29/2013
For me, the bigger questions remain the value of standardized tests in the education of children, especially the impact they have on what gets taught, how it is taught, and how learning is accurately measured.
4/26/2013
Critics say the standardized test-driven reforms pushed by those like Michelle Rhee may actually be harming students.
4/24/2013
This high-stakes testing has enormous implications for teachers and entire school communities as well. Mayor Bloomberg has repeatedly and publicly called for teachers to be evaluated based on these test scores.
4/23/2013
Texas public schools are set to face a tweaked accountability system for 2013 that will continue to grade schools largely on test scores but also will highlight improvement on the state exams.
Pages
About Us
District Administration is the most widely received, most regularly read publication for K12 district-level school leaders nationwide.