History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
NEW REPORT: Los Angeles' road to A-G for all
Without Dollars and Sense Powerpoint
Past Educational Opportunity Reports
Reduce standardized testing to improve accountability, school quality
- 10-19-2010
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Guest blog by Monty Neill/Washington Post
Last June, I outlined a school assessment and evaluation system that should replace No Child Left Behind’s test-only structure. This is the second of three articles describing how each component would work: comprehensive school quality reviews, annual state tests in a few grades, and local assessments (next). Together, these three pillars of real reform can provide comprehensive evidence of school quality and progress, as well as richer information for teaching and school improvement efforts. A key step is to reduce the amount of testing and lower the stakes. Federally mandated standardized testing should be cut back to what Congress required from 1994 to 2002 -- once each in elementary, middle and high school. That’s a period when school performance improved and achievement gaps narrowed faster than in the No Child Left Behind era. (more…)
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