Guest blog: Steven Baule, Superintendent of the Muncie Community Schools in Muncie, Indiana: Since the Every Child Shall Succeed Act (ESSA) was signed into law, the focus on standardized testing that was a significant part of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has been called into question at every level. President Obama put a great video on Facebook discussing how testing should be used as part of a bigger assessment package. About the same time, the Washington Post spoke about the Council of Great City Schools’ study of testing that saw the average US student taking 112 standardized tests during their academic career. Another Washington Post article reported that many students don’t try on the required tests because, although these tests are high stakes for schools, often students are not impacted by their test results. A sidebar article speaks to the technical glitches that are hindering standardized testing, which is a third major issue with testing. For example, Alaska cancelled all its federal testing earlier this month due to technical setbacks. A fourth issue involves inaccurate scoring of exams, as occurred in last year’s ISTEP exams in Indiana. The results were so compromised that a bipartisan bill was passed to not include those exam scores in teacher evaluations for the year. Of course, the law is still in effect for future years and students are currently taking the same test right now in Indiana schools--even though most agree it is a flawed test. I am running out of space and I haven’t even discussed the parental opt-out movement. Maybe educators now have an opportunity to shape a future with less testing.
