The U.S. can do a much better job evaluating children, teachers and schools. That's why protests against standardized testing misuse and overuse are exploding across the nation. Testing Resistance & Reform Spring (TRRS) seeks to ensure that assessment contributes to all students having access to a high-quality education. Our alliance unites around three goals:

1) Stop high-stakes use of standardized tests;

2) Reduce the number of standardized exams, saving time and money for real learning; and

3) Replace multiple-choice tests with performance-based assessments and evidence of learning from students' ongoing classwork.

C is for college rating system  by Libby Nelson  in the Politic0 Magazine

Determining what makes a good chocolate chip cookie and what makes a good college education might have more in common than you think.

Analogies (and advice) abound for the Obama administration's forthcoming college rating system. It will be a Consumer Reports for colleges. Or a Good Housekeeping seal of approval. 

Why creationists can't be scientists   by Sean McElwee,  in Salon.com

What Americans Keep Ignoring About Finland's School Success  by Anu Partanen in the Atlantic Monthly

Class-Size Reduction: Better Than You Think  by William J. Mathis, and Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach  in the NEPC Blog

While a series of high-profile and often controversial school reforms has gotten the lion's share of attention from policymakers over the last decade or two, one reform appears to have been consistently ignored and marginalized: reducing the size of classes. Yet, as Professor Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach points out in a new policy brief released today, the evidence that class size reduction helps raise student achievement is strong.

Smart ALEC: What's the Fordham Institute doing hooking up with ALEC?  in EduShyster.com

Nation's biggest teachers union slams "botched" Common Core implementation  by Stephanie Simon in Politico.Com

The nation's largest teachers union is pulling back on its once-enthusiastic support of the Common Core academic standards, labeling their rollout "completely botched."

National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel said he still believes the standards can improve education. But he said they will not succeed without a major "course correction" - including possibly rewriting some of the standards and revising the related tests with teacher input.

Best aspects of teaching can't be evaluated  by Myra Blackmon in Online Athens

Some folks believe that if you can't quantify something, it isn't worth bothering with. People in power are often so obsessed with the data, the numbers, and the profits they often lose sight of the people behind the information.   Such is the case with the massive educational "evaluation" being pushed by so-called reformers. Many of these high-level reformers - Bill Gates, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others - know little or nothing about teaching and learning in our public schools. Bill Gates' children attended Lakeside Academy in Seattle, where tuition approaches $30,000 a year.

Kids, defined by income  by Christina Pazzanese  in the harvad Gazette

T