Leaving students behind: The tyranny of testing

September 16, 2021 00:30:44
Leaving students behind: The tyranny of testing
Ethical Schools
Leaving students behind: The tyranny of testing

Sep 16 2021 | 00:30:44

/

Show Notes

Bob Schaeffer, Executive Director of FairTest, talks about high-stakes standardized tests as barriers to equal opportunity. Fairer college admissions criteria are increasing admissions diversity, but well-funded supporters of high-stakes tests are still resisting replacement of the tests in elementary and secondary schools. Many schools eliminated high-stakes testing during the pandemic, and FairTest supports making high-stakes waivers or repeals permanent.

Overview

00:00-00:46 Intros

00:46-01:31 FairTest’s objectives

01:31-02:22 Most success in higher ed

02:22-03:40 Changes in test use in college admissions

03:40-05:20 Affect on affirmative action

05:20-06:48 Relative costs in time and money of alternative measures for college admissions

06:48-07:33 Admission of foreign students

07:33-08:47 High stakes testing in other countries

08:47-10:48 Changes in high stakes testing in K-12

10:48 13:05 Resistance to changes in K-12 testing

13:05-15:17 Organizations who oppose changes; National PTA changed its position and began to support testing after Gates Foundation funding

15:17-16:59 Black parents’ concerns about wanting an “objective measure” of their child’s knowledge and why standardized tests don’t provide that

16:59-18:45 Alternatives to high stakes testing

18:45-20:09 False  promises of improving academic quality and reducing gaps

20:09-21:57 Appropriate role for standardized tests

21:57-23:34 Testing and regulation of charter schools

23:34-24:50 Corporations in testing-industrial complex

24:50-28:39 AP testing and College Board

28:39-30:45 Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcription of this episode. 

References

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear

Other Episodes

Episode 0

July 11, 2025 00:38:26
Episode Cover

Hip Hop in the classroom: Reaching students where they are

We speak with Dr. Dawn Hicks Tafari, Professor of Education and Coordinator of Elementary Education at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina. Dawn is...

Listen

Episode 0

September 25, 2019 00:38:45
Episode Cover

Adjoa Jones de Almeida of the Brooklyn Museum on art as experience

We speak with Adjoa Jones de Almeida, Director of Education at the Brooklyn Museum. We discuss the significance of “art as experience.” Ms. Jones...

Listen

Episode 0

January 22, 2023 00:36:31
Episode Cover

Climate anxiety: a generational plague

We speak with Lian Zeitz, co-founder of the Climate Mental Health Network, which promotes wellness in light of the climate crisis. According to a...

Listen