Scandal in Atlanta Reignites Debate Over Tests' Role

April 2, 2013

CEPR Faculty Director Thomas Kane comments on the role of education testing amid the Atlanta school cheating scandal in the New York Times article.

There are few more contentious issues in public education than the increased reliance on standardized testing.

In the context of a fiery debate, the Atlanta school cheating scandal, the largest in recent history, detonates like a bomb, fueling critics who say that standardized testing as a way to measure student achievement should be scaled back.

Evidence of systemic cheating has emerged in as many as a dozen places across the country, and protests in Chicago, New York City, Seattle, across Texas and elsewhere represent a growing backlash among educators and parents against high-stakes testing.

...

Continue reading at www.nytimes.com