Essential education reporting across America

Assessment and testing

A girl sits at a table in a school over a case of essential oils. A pair of scissors, paper, and other materials are on the table.
From Chalkbeat New York Assessment and testing
What’s a PBAT? NYC’s ‘consortium’ schools have lessons to share on alternatives to Regents exams
Students at Brooklyn’s Leaders High School document the results of their experiments and present their findings to a panel of educators and experts in what’s known as a ‘performance-based assessment.’
By Michael Elsen-Rooney
 
A group of high school students collaborate in class. They have laptop computers on the table.
From Chalkbeat New York First Person
My high school is exempt from Regents exams. Other schools should be, too.
Standardized testing promotes rote memorization. Consortium schools raise the bar.
By Alexander Calafiura
 
Students sit at white desks taking exams with paper and pencil
From Chalkbeat New York Assessment and testing
Your guide to state testing season for NYC students in grades 3-8
There might be more attention on this year’s state tests, following the spotlight on last year’s dip in national test scores.
By Reema Amin
 
A man wearing a red and black robe shakes hand with a person wearing a blue robe sunglasses and a hat worn by graduating students.
From Chalkbeat Newark Assessment and testing
New Jersey students take high school exit exam amid concerns about passing score, usefulness
Last year, the state adopted a higher passing score than one recommended by education officials, but promised to review the results to determine if New Jersey should lower the benchmark for juniors this year.
By Jessie Gomez
 
A man wearing a suit and blue necktie speaks into a microphone in a legislative chamber with the Tennessee state flag in the background.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Politics & Policy
Bill to ease Tennessee’s third-grade reading and retention law clears first legislative hurdle
The measure would widen reading test criteria for retention but keep the state in control of those decisions.
By Marta W. Aldrich
 
A person holds a pen in her right hand while seated at a desk and puts her head in her left hand.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Student & School Performance
Colorado will switch to use computerized SAT, PSAT
The state previously used the paper-version of the PSAT and SAT to test student math and English skills.
By Jason Gonzales
 
A display of colorful picture books, including some about Black history.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Student & School Performance
More than 2,700 MSCS 3rd-graders face risk of being held back, district official says
Board’s academic committee considers ways to ease impact of reading law, including offering retests and eliminating time limits.
By Tonyaa Weathersbee
 
A boy and a girl share a picture book while sitting on a concrete bench in front of a concrete wall and a sculpture of a large yellow fish with a tangle of dark seaweed growing up from its back with blue, magenta and white flowers interspersed.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Assessment and testing
Tennessee looks to ‘Mississippi miracle’ as it grapples with stagnant reading scores
Holding back third graders who aren’t deemed proficient remains a sticking point
By Marta W. Aldrich
 
Ian Randolph, board treasurer for Circles of Success charter school, said he believes its unfair for third-graders traumatized by the pandemic to be traumatized by the stress of being retained.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Assessment and testing
Third-grade retention law will intensify Memphis students’ pandemic woes, local critics say
More than three-quarters of third-graders could be held back, they warn.
By Tonyaa Weathersbee
 
A female teacher is writing on a white board to the right as students sit behind her in desks.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Politics & Policy
Colorado school case study highlights need for collaboration in turnaround work
The study looked at schools in Greeley that have sustained their improvements.
By Yesenia Robles
 
man wearing a business suit stands at a podium
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Special education
Tennessee is talking about rejecting federal education funding. What would that mean for kids?
From students with disabilities to schools serving disadvantaged students, ‘there’s just a lot of uncertainty’
By Marta W. Aldrich
 
Two men wearing business suits speak with each other in a committee room.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Politics & Policy
Concern over Tennessee’s third grade reading and retention law prompts flurry of bills
Summer camps and tutoring are popular, but holding students back because of a test score is not
By Marta W. Aldrich
 
An ornate white building with columns shown against a blue sky with clouds and a single person shown in shadow.
Assessment and testing Assessment and testing
How to fairly grade schools post-pandemic? States must decide.
The debate over whether to ease up on academic expectations or double down is flaring up across the country.
By Patrick Wall
 
A student in a gray hoodie looks down at a paper exam. His hands are put together and resting against his chin and mouth.
From Chalkbeat New York Assessment and testing
NYC schools are once again cleared to grade their own students’ Regents exams. Will score manipulation surge?
But some experts worry that teachers will unfairly bump up familiar students’ scores.
By Alex Zimmerman
 
A crowd of students gathers outside a gray concrete high school building.
From Chalkbeat New York COVID and Schools
After COVID paused Regents exams, graduation rates for NYC’s English language learners surged
Data obtained by Chalkbeat suggests that the temporary policy change — first canceling the English Regents and then not requiring a passing score to graduate — made it easier for English language learners to earn their diplomas.
By Reema Amin
 
Students hand holding pencil writing selected choice on answer sheets and Mathematics question sheets. students testing doing examination. school exam
From Chalkbeat Newark Assessment and testing
Incoming Newark high school students may take new entrance test
This year, incoming high schoolers are required to take their admissions test in early February but Newark has not clarified if the exam will be given to students this year.
By Jessie Gomez
 
A woman in a red shirt and black blazer stares ahead.
From Chalkbeat New York Politics & Policy
Hochul’s education agenda: student mental health, high-dosage tutoring, college access
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposals showed a deeper commitment to addressing how the pandemic impacted students both academically and mentally.
By Reema Amin
 
A close up of graduates wearing blue gowns and mortar boards with gold stoles. A blue cap is in the foreground.
From Chalkbeat New York Student & School Performance
Goodbye, Regents? A New York commission mulls high school graduation requirements
Policymakers and advocates are offering some clues for what new requirements should look like, including alternatives to the Regents exams, removing the exams as a requirement, or even creating another type of exit exam.
By Reema Amin
 
Students put their hands together during an exercise.
Year in Review Year in Review
13 Chalkbeat stories that defined 2022
These stories will take you inside the world of an exhausted social worker, a student working to come out of her shell, and a mother trying to help her son catch up.
By Chalkbeat Staff
 
Students hand holding pencil writing selected choice on answer sheets and Mathematics question sheets. students testing doing examination. school exam
From Chalkbeat Newark Assessment and testing
New Jersey’s test scores for 2022: See the math and literacy results for your district
Across student groups statewide, math scores took a greater hit than literacy scores between 2019 and 2022.
By Catherine Carrera
 
Students pass though a stairwell at Overbrook High School.
From Chalkbeat Philadelphia College and career readiness
Nearly half of Philadelphia seniors still working to meet new state graduation requirements
The impact of a 2018 state law expanding pathways to a diploma is coming into focus.
By Dale Mezzacappa
 
A man wearing glasses and black pants holds a book out for children sitting on the floor and wearing orange shirts to see.
From Chalkbeat Philadelphia Early Childhood Education
Philadelphia officials optimistic about early literacy efforts despite disappointing test scores
Advocates and others say the city’s “Read by 4th” campaign and other efforts have built a strong foundation.
By Dale Mezzacappa
 
Two first grade girls stand at a white board and answer questions for a project about bees.
From Chalkbeat Chicago Student & School Performance
New policy would change when Chicago students are held back, eliminates test scores as factor
Students will have to pass more subjects, but getting help will count too.
By Mila Koumpilova
 
A student, wearing a yellow sweater, writes on a whiteboard that hangs on a bright yellow wall.
Assessment and testing Assessment and testing
Fall test scores show a slow, uneven academic rebound
Students are continuing to regain academic ground lost during the pandemic.
By Julian Shen-Berro
 
Several students sit at a gray table to take an exam using bright, yellow pencils. The classroom background is white.
From Chalkbeat Philadelphia Assessment and testing
Philadelphia student scores on state reading and math exams down from pre-COVID levels
Results on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment also declined statewide from pre-pandemic levels.
By Andrew Ujifusa
 
A young student wearing a mask sits in a classroom with a teacher standing nearby.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Student & School Performance
Colorado is adding new measures to how schools are rated
Changes had been in the works, but were delayed when the pandemic began.
By Yesenia Robles
 
A teacher stands at the front of a classroom pointing at a white board as three rows of students look on.
Assessment and testing Assessment and testing
Struggling students hit harder, rebounding slower from COVID, research finds
The latest findings solidify a developing picture of schools struggling to support students who have fallen off track.
By Julian Shen-Berro
 
Students in red shirts sit in an auditorium facing a stage.
From Chalkbeat New York Student & School Performance
Facing enrollment drop, one Bronx middle school tries its hand at marketing
Facing a budget shortfall because of enrollment declines, Soundview Academy’s principal made an unusual request to students, staff and families: Would they help market the school?
By Reema Amin
 
Two students wearing safety glasses take measurements for a science experiment at Providence Cristo Rey High School, a private, Roman Catholic high school in Indianapolis, Indiana.
From Chalkbeat Newark Assessment and testing
Newark students score low on state science tests
After Newark school board officials gave a look at drops in state math and reading scores, state science assessment scores for the district also show decline.
By Jessie Gomez
 
Two young students sit inside of a classroom at a wood table. Both of them are taking an exam with yellow number two pencils.
From Chalkbeat Chicago Assessment and testing
Illinois test scores highlight pandemic fallout with declines in math, reading
The 2022 Illinois report card shows students have lost ground in math and reading due to pandemic disruptions
By Samantha Smylie
 
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