The Biden Administration has directed states to resume standardized tests this year. But it’s offering them flexibility in how they administer the tests, and the extent to which individual schools are held accountable for results.
Multiple states, including New York and New Jersey, asked to waive standardized test requirements because of how challenging they are to administer during the pandemic. And some parents and educators who advocate against testing have hoped the pandemic might hasten a move away from the exams altogether.
But federal officials said the tests will provide a necessary snapshot of how much students have learned or lost over the past year.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Ian Rosenblum sent a letter informing states about the requirement on Monday. “To be successful once schools have reopened, we need to understand the impact COVID-19 has had on learning and identify what resources and supports students need,” he wrote. “We must also specifically be prepared to address the educational inequities that have been exacerbated by the pandemic.”
He said the government also wants to balance the need for data with flexibility. To that end, he said states can use shorter tests, offer the tests remotely, and/or delay them. Crucially, the feds are also offering states latitude on whether the data is used to evaluate the performance of teachers, schools, and school districts.
The decision comes as school districts are struggling to grasp how much ground students have lost during the pandemic. Some surveys have shown declines particularly in math, but researchers say these preliminary studies may not adequately reflect students from vulnerable communities who have had trouble logging on for remote learning.
Following the directive from the Biden Administration, the New York State Education Department announced a proposal to cancel any Regents exam that is not required by the federal government, and seek approval to remove the Regents test requirement for graduation. Officials will vote on the proposal next month.
In a statement, agency spokesperson Emily DeSantis said New York officials were disappointed to learn that the tests must go forward, but appreciated the decision to “uncouple” results from accountability measures and to allow students to take the tests from home.
A slew of standardized tests, from the state Regents exams to SATs and ACTs, were canceled last year. Typically, students in New York must take the tests each year in third through eighth grade and once in high school. In addition to providing data on student learning, the tests are also used to identify and intervene in lower performing schools.
New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), a state teachers union, slammed the decision. “In a year that has been anything but standard, mandating that students take standardized tests just doesn’t make sense,” NYSUT President Andy Pallotta said. “As the educators in the classroom, we have always known that standardized tests are not the best way to measure a child’s development, and they are especially unreliable right now. We need to ensure that our students who have been hit hardest during the pandemic receive the support they need. Sizing up students with inequitable and stressful exams is not the solution.”
Parents opposed to testing were also alarmed. Kaliris Salas-Ramirez, a parent and member of the group New York City Opt Out, called the decision “unethical, irresponsible, and negligent.”
“We know [the standardized tests] are biased toward our most marginalized groups,” Salas-Ramirez said. “The only thing this decision does is give money that can be used for resources for a school community to testing corporations.”
But Evan Stone, co-founder of the group Educators for Excellence, said the Biden Administration made the right move. “In a year that has presented as many challenges to education as ever, we need more information on student performance, not less,” he said. “The Department of Education’s decision to continue to gather student data this year, but to refrain from using it for school or teacher accountability, is the right call and reflects what teachers want.”
