When the Going Gets Tough, Federal Testing Gets Lame

Neal McCluskeyYesterday, the U.S. Department of Educationannounced that the Biden administration will not lift the federal requirement that public elementary and secondary schools administer state standardized tests this year. Well, sort of: The feds will allow numerous changes to how tests are given from previous years – they can be shorter, administered remotely, and states can apply for waivers from federal accountability measures, including for the share of students tested. So states will still have to test, but the conditions will be very different from previous years. (Note that last year the Trump administ rationwaived all testing requirements.)What good is this going to do?For establishing trends, these tests will be largely useless. Unless the testing conditions are the same as in past years – which they clearly are not – we will not be able to tell the extent to which the results reflect changes in learning versus changes in the testing itself.What about telling educators where their students stand as a result of COVID-19 disruptions? In this regard the testing might help, but if many students do not take the tests, or they do so in unprecedented remote conditions, again, what can be concluded about their learning versus the changing testing situation? Indeed, such tests mightunderstate learning loss – what we are most worried about – by being easier than in the past.Ironically, the federal mandate for uniform, high ‐​stakes testing – testing wi...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs