Education groups launch website to promote high-quality tests

As the Common Core standards and the role of testing in schools is debated in New York and across the country, several education and civil rights groups are launching a new website and initiative to identify what they believe is the appropriate role of testing in schools.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo faced powerful opposition from the state teachers union after he tried to tie student performance on the state tests to a new teacher evaluation system. Protests and criticism of the Common Core-aligned state tests reached a fever pitch in New York last year, which ultimately forced the state Board of Regents and state Education Department to announce a moratorium on the use of state tests on student and teacher performance while they review the controversial standards.

In response to such concerns about testing, High Achievement of New York and the Center for American Progress, two pro-Common Core organizations, released on Thursday morning a “Testing Bill of Rights,” which outlines how high-quality tests should be used to promote learning and accountability of schools.

The document calls for tests that provide an objective measure of progress toward college-and-career-readiness and an education free of excessive test prep, among other goals.

“The bill of rights calls for the appropriate balance between tests having high-order thinking skills for students and enabling teachers to track their progress and most importantly, informing parents about how well our educational framework is serving New York children,” Arva Rice, president and CEO of the New York Urban League, said on a conference call.

The education groups also announced the creation of a new website, Testbetter.org, which features the “Testing Bill of Rights” and also provides teaching and testing resources for school districts.

“I support the Testing Bill of Rights because although tests provide valuable information on student learning, tests should not be the focal point of learning,” Paul Fanuele, president-elect of the School Administrators Association of New York and executive principal of Arlington High School, said on the conference call. “When tests are used for reasons other than learning, such as the evaluations of teachers and principals, the focal point moves away from student learning and shifts to measuring teacher/principal performance.”

You can read the Testing Bill of Rights and visit the newly-launched Testbetter.org website here.