To the Point
Are High-Stakes Tests Corrupting Public Education?
After charges of systematic cheating on standardized testing by administrators and teachers a backlash is growing against standardized testing.
By Warren Olney • • 35m ListenDoes standardized testing have to be counterproductive? In Atlanta, 35 teachers and administrators were indicted this week for conspiring to raise student scores on standardized tests. In El Paso, a former superintendent’s in prison for putting kids in the wrong grade, pushing them out of school or preventing them from enrolling—so that test scores would meet high standards of accountability. Texas spends more on standardized testing than any other state. It’s where George W. Bush got the idea for “No Child Left Behind,” which evolved into “Race to the Top” under Barack Obama. After 20 years of education “reform,” a backlash is growing. Is there such a thing as too much “accountability?”
Banner Photo: REUTERS/Jim Young
