A Think Twice Review of:

Review of Student Assessment During COVID-19

Think Twice - Oct 29, 2020

Publisher/Think Tank - Center for American Progress

Author(s) - Laura Jimenez

Student Assessment During COVID-19, a recent report from the Center for American Progress (CAP), argues that there should be no waivers of the federally mandated administration of standardized tests in spring 2021.In its report, CAP sides with the Department of Education’s policy of denying requests for waivers, and it calls for additional assessments that “capture multiple aspects of student well-being, including social-emotional needs, engagement, and conditions for learning” as well as supplementary gathering of student information.

Reviewer(s) - Gene V Glass, San José State University, William J. Mathis, University of Colorado Boulder

Considering the massive disruption now occurring in schools and the limited utility of standardized tests even in ordinary times, state agencies and local districts are too hard-pressed by fiscal and time demands and the ramping up of health costs to consider these additional and costly programs of dubious value.