As Illinois moves to the SAT, instead of the ACT, Fair Test notes that the 'New SAT' is the same as the 'Old SAT'...
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner appoints Chicago minister James Meeks to the post of President of the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). Meeks had been preaching union busting for years, both from his pulpit at his church and as an Illinois Senator. At one point, Meeks said that the "worst gang" in Chicago was the Chicago Teachers Union. Rauner found a kindred soul in the reverend when he praised and appointed Meeks to head the state school board.While Illinois once again juggles the Big Test, replacing the ACT with the SAT as the main college ready test for Illinois high school juniors and seniors, every clear evaluation of the tests shows that the tests are still as flawed as ever. In fact, the ruling class continues to change and shift the BIG TEST because the objective is not to have a test that is valid, fair and reliable -- but to have a test that provides a way of ranking and sorting teachers and schools, proving that the ruling class should fire some teachers and continue to close some schools.
FairTest: The �New� SAT Is No Better than the �Old� SAT, for further information: Bob Schaeffer (239) 395-6773cell (239) 699-0468. for immediate release, Monday, February 22, 2016
SAT �FACELIFT� FAILS TO ADDRESS EXAM�S BASIC FLAWS --
WEAK PREDICTION, BIASES, AND SENSITIVITY TO COACHING;
50+ SCHOOLS GO TEST-OPTIONAL SINCE REVISIONS ANNOUNCED
Saturday, March 5, is the first administration of the �redesigned SAT.� Though its sponsor, the College Board, is promoting revisions in the exam�s appearance, none of the upcoming changes addresses its key weaknesses, according to the National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest).
Bob Schaeffer, FairTest�s Public Education Director, explained, �Even the College Board admits that the �new� SAT will not provide more accurate forecasts of undergraduate success. It will still under-predict the classroom performance of women, older applicants and students whose first language is not English. The coaching industry is already selling high-priced �test prep steroids� to teenagers whose parents can pay thousands to artificially boost scores on the revised exam.�
�The �new� SAT may look more consumer-friendly, but is not a better test,� Schaeffer continued. �The facelift is largely marketing bells and whistles. The changes seem designed to compete with the ACT, the most widely used admissions exam. The College Board also appears more interested in trying to slow the test-optional movement than improving the test�s measurement precision.�
Schaeffer concluded, �Higher education decision-makers increasingly recognize that neither the �new� SAT nor the rival ACT is needed for high-quality admissions.� Since the College Board announced the SAT redesign, more than 50 schools adopted test-optional policies. This month, a Harvard study encouraged other colleges and universities to follow suit. More than 850 accredited, bachelor degree granting institutions do not require SAT or ACT scores from all or many applicants. That list includes 200 schools ranked in the top tiers of their academic categories.
- FairTest�s directory of test-optional and test-flexible colleges and universities:
http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional
- Chronology of 140+ schools dropping ACT/SAT requirements in past decade
http://www.fairtest.org/sites/default/files/Optional-Growth-Chronology.pdf
- List of 200+ top tier schools that do not require admissions test scores from all or many applicants http://www.fairtest.org/sites/default/files/Optional-Schools-in-U.S.News-Top-Tiers.pdf
FAIR TEST ALSO PRODUCES A WEEKLY UPDATE ON CRITICISMS OF SO-CALLED 'STANDARDIZED' TESTING PROGRAMS. HERE IS THE UPDATE FOR FEBRUARY 23, 2016:
This week's stories from 20 states, overseas, higher education and even the world of video games again demonstrate the rising tide of the assessment reform movement. You can learn more about how to replace high-stakes standardized exams with performance assessments by signing up for FairTest's Sunday evening March 6 webinar.
National Register now for Performance Assessments Best Practices Webinar on Mar 6, 2016, 8:00 PM EST
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5841984926709877506
National Public Education Rallies Target Test Misuse and Overuse
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2016/02/17/parents-teachers-and-children-rally-for-public-education-at-hundreds-of-schools-nationwide/
National 70% of Teachers Say State Assessments Not Developmentally Appropriate
http://neatoday.org/2016/02/18/standardized-tests-not-developmentally-appropriate/
SAT Facelift Fails to Address Test's Basic Flaws: Weak Prediction, Biases, Susceptibility to Coaching
http://fairtest.org/SAT-%E2%80%9Cfacelift%E2%80%9D-fails-to-address-exam%E2%80%99s-basic-flaws
ACT/SAT George Washington Gets Record Breaking Number of Applications After Tests Become Optional
http://college.usatoday.com/2016/02/18/gw-gets-record-breaking-number-of-apps-after-tests-become-optional/
ACT/SAT Colleges Look to Change Admissions Processes
http://learningenglish.voanews.com/content/making-caring-common-in-college-admissions/3197142.html
Arkansas Deja Vu All Over Again as Schools Face Another Testing Change
http://www.nashvilleleader.com/news/deja-vu-all-over-again-as-state-school-testing-faces-another-change/
California Parents and Educators Rally to "Reclaim Our Schools" From Testing Overkill
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Reclaim-Our-Schools-Rallies-Focus-on-Testing-369141531.html
California Campaign to Recoup Additional Costs Districts Incurred for Computerized Testing
http://www.plumasnews.com/story/2016/02/10/news/school-district-leads-statewide-effort-to-recoup-testing-costs/809.html
Connecticut Parents, Teachers, Students Plan Push Back Against Governor's Plan to Crack Down on Opting Out
http://jonathanpelto.com/2016/02/22/malloy-wyman-administration-ramp-up-attack-on-parents-who-opt-their-children-out-of-the-common-core-sbac-testing-fiasco/
Delaware Capital School District Restates Support for State Opt-Out Bill
http://delawarestatenews.net/schools/capital-school-district-resolution-on-state-testing-passes/
Florida Parents Send "Smell the Accountabaloney" Campaign Clown Noses to Legislators
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/education/school-zone/os-parents--high-stakes-tests-clown-noses-20160216-story.html
Florida What Test Stress Looks Like for Today's Student
http://www.wtvy.com/content/news/369299761.html
Florida Third Grader Tells School Board: Why Test Prep Makes Me Hate School
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/02/16/third-grader-to-school-board-why-i-cant-stand-going-to-school-anymore/
Georgia Teachers Push for Fewer Standardized Exams
http://www.11alive.com/story/news/2016/02/17/teachers-standardized-testing-senate/80522092/
Georgia The Story Behind an Unexpected Testing Reform Bill
http://getschooled.blog.myajc.com/2016/02/19/the-story-behind-an-unexpected-georgia-anti-testing-bill/
Indiana State Official Revised Report to Reduce Testing Criticism
http://indianapublicmedia.org/stateimpact/2016/02/17/independent-investigation-istep-independent/
Louisiana Charter Schools Tighten Test Security After Cheating Investigation
http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2016/02/new_orleans_cheating_plan.html
Louisiana Proposal to End Cycle of Tests, Test Prep and Cheating
http://louisianaeducator.blogspot.com/2016/02/report-to-bese-and-district.html
Maryland Educators, Lawmakers Support Bills to Limit School Testing
http://patch.com/maryland/uppermarlboro/s/fm82w/maryland-leaders-propose-limiting-standardized-tests?
Maryland Students Score Higher on Pencil-and-Paper English Exams
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/bs-md-paper-testing-20160223-story.html
Michigan School "Walk In" Supports Reduction in Standardized Testing
http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2016/02/kalamazoo_teacher_walk-in_supp.html
Nebraska State Ed Board Questions Need for New Civics Exam
http://www.ccenterdispatch.com/news/state/article_5b6b85fe-1b18-567e-90ef-4ccbeb0164a0.html
Nebraska Changes Could Be Slow After State Assessment Trouble
http://www.ketv.com/news/iteam-changes-could-be-slow-after-state-assessment-trouble/38102522
New Jersey We Know Nothing After a Year of PARCC
http://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/opinion/editorials/2016/02/18/know-nothing-year-parcc/80571860/
New Jersey Hiking Achievement Standards Won't Improve Academic Performance
http://www.app.com/story/opinion/readers/2016/02/19/letter-hiking-achievement-standards-improve-performance/80604328/
New York Assessment Reformers See Opportunity to Change Board of Regents
http://www.wnyc.org/story/common-core-critics-see-opportunity-change-state-regents-board/
New York Federal Law Now Leaves Opt-Out Consequences Up to State
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2016/02/8591533/new-law-leaves-test-opt-out-consequences-state
New York Are Opt-Outs Pushing the State to Competency-Based Testing?
https://mets2006.wordpress.com/2016/02/19/are-the-opt-outs-pushing-the-state-to-competency-based-testing/
North Dakota State Weight Options for State Testing After Last Year's Botched Computer Exam Rollout
http://www.thedickinsonpress.com/news/education/3951444-state-weighs-options-standardized-tests
Pennsylvania Schools Face Challenges of New Testing
http://lancasteronline.com/alwayslancaster/schools-face-challenges-of-new-testing/article_7cb266a8-d4b0-11e5-8b61-ef7b989efc3c.html
Tennessee Public School Problems Tied to Over-Testing
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2016/feb/17/tennessee-educatiassociation-problems-public/350522/
Tennessee After Computer Testing Debacle, Student Scores Will Be Excluded From Teacher Ratings
http://tn.chalkbeat.org/2016/02/17/after-testing-debacle-tennessee-set-to-exclude-student-scores-from-teacher-ratings/#.VsTRhuZQcrU
Tennessee Questions Fairness of Test-Based Teacher Evaluation, But Does Not Bar It
http://tn.chalkbeat.org/2016/02/19/federal-court-dismisses-tea-lawsuit-but-questions-validity-of-tvaas/
Texas Superintendent of Year Says "I Have Given Up the Testing and Accountability Game"
http://dianeravitch.net/2016/02/16/texas-superintendent-of-the-year-tells-state-board-i-have-given-up-the-testing-and-accountability-game/
Texas Commission Studies Future of Student Testing
http://www.star-telegram.com/opinion/editorials/article61394777.html
Utah Test Scores Are Not a Valid Measure for Teacher Evaluations
http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/3548377-155/op-ed-test-scores-are-not-a
Virginia Schools Back Testing Amendments
http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/news/schools-back-testing-amendments/article_5679e70a-a01c-5f1d-aac7-dc3ecff5d5c1.html
Washington Hundreds of Student Test Scores Mailed to Wrong Addresses
http://komonews.com/news/local/oops-hundreds-of-seattle-student-test-results-mailed-to-wrong-address
International How Finland Broke Every Rule and Created a Top School System
http://hechingerreport.org/how-finland-broke-every-rule-and-created-a-top-school-system/
International Why PISA Scores Are Meaningless
http://dianeravitch.net/2016/02/23/chris-tienkin-why-the-international-test-scores-are-meaningless/
Higher Ed. Colleges Move Away From Standardized Testing to Assess Learning
http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/colleges-continue-to-abandon-standardized-tests-to-assess-learning-survey-finds/108683
"No Pineapple Left Behind" New Video Game
http://subalterngames.com/press/sheet.php?p=no_pineapple_left_behind
Bob Schaeffer, Public Education Director
FairTest: National Center for Fair & Open Testing
office- (239) 395-6773 fax- (239) 395-6779
mobile- (239) 699-0468
web- http://www.fairtest.org
