Standardized Testing

My last comments about dropouts included the reasons for students leaving school and listed academic failure as one significant factor. Because of this factor, these students would also fall into the educational “achievement gap” category....

The local NAACP president has officially voiced his dissatisfaction with the Danville High School principal hiring process and believes a Danville native should have been interviewed for the recently filled position. Norman Bartleson, president of the...

In the past few weeks we have heard horror stories from throughout Indiana about testing under ISTEP+ -- particularly the overload of the computer system and the failure of the testing company's servers to handle the testing. This caused Indiana to...

The Baltimore Teacher's Union has called for the district hold off on attaching penalties to schools' performance on the the new  Common Core assessments, citing insufficient professional development and resources to implement the new high-stakes...

We asked you: Should severely disabled students take standardized tests? YES 9% NO 91% Health care or education? What disabled children ... are receiving is not an education but occupational therapy. It should be handled by the health-care system,...

A McKinley Elementary teacher has been placed on administrative leave after a third-grade student reported that the teacher helped a class answer questions on state standardized tests this week. Burbank Unified Supt. Jan Britz, who made the announcement...

In an effort to encourage and excite its students for the state standardized test, McKinley Elementary School held its fifth annual Red Carpet Gala here Friday. The gala serves as an opportunity for the school to recognize its students who scored...

Andrea Rediske knew her special-needs son had no business taking standardized tests. He was born with brain damage. He suffers from cerebral palsy and is legally blind. Just teaching Ethan to say "yes" or "no" — or even keep his gaze focused...

Thank you for the article regarding "opting out" of standardized testing. In addition to the recent letters to the editor regarding the Core Curriculum controversy, this is a pertinent topic for parents and taxpayers in the state of Pennsylvania and...

As the annual standardized tests are being administered in Pennsylvania schools starting this week, a movement is growing among parents to opt out of the tests. North Star Superintendent Shawn Kovac said the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests...

Professional word merchants can get a little insecure when some unjournalist comes along and does a better job of putting passages together. It happens to me all too often. I'll write a column filled with dazzling piquancy and logic, and along comes...

If a student cheats on an important test, such as a midterm, he is punished, and rightly so. His teacher doesn't merely brush aside the offense and blame it on all the stressful and unnecessary high-stakes tests that today's unfortunate students are...