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
On testing, what was Obama really trying to say?
- 03-30-2011
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Blog by Michele McNeil/Education Week
At Monday's town hall about improving education among Hispanic students, President Barack Obama raised some eyebrows when he seemed to imply that annual testing may not be the way to go. Here's what he said in response to a student's question about too much testing: "Too often what we've been doing is using these tests to punish students or to, in some cases, punish schools. And so what we've said is let's find a test that everybody agrees makes sense; let's apply it in a less pressured-packed atmosphere; let's figure out whether we have to do it every year or whether we can do it maybe every several years; and let's make sure that that's not the only way we're judging whether a school is doing well." The Associated Press latched onto this, and wrote a story about how Obama wants less annual testing. When we asked the U.S. Department of Education today about Obama's statement, spokesman Justin Hamilton clarified it, saying annual testing is still very much apart of the department's agenda: (more...)
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