Covid-19 has boosted the campaign against exams in American schools
TO THE DELIGHT of campaigners and some parents, covid-19 has put a wrench in school exams. With support from the Trump administration, all 50 states cancelled accountability testing last March, freeing 51m public-school pupils from the annual rigmarole. The SATs optional essay-writing section and separate subject tests were discontinued this year. The Programme for International Student Assessment, an exam measuring the academic performance of OECD member countries, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a nationwide exam administered to a sample of American pupils, have been postponed too. With opposition building for years against standardised testing in public schools, could this be the end?
On February 22nd the Biden administration said exams had to take place, but that the results would not be used to grade schools. Ordinarily the federal government obliges states to hold schools accountable for their pupils’ test scores. Schools with poor results may see their budgets reduced, as part of that exchange of exam results for dollars. Some states and districts have used results to close schools and fire teachers. Teachers in tough places often think this is unfair. And covid-19 has strengthened the point that much of what goes into a test score is, frankly, well beyond the control of teachers.
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