Schools need standardized testing now more than ever

For decades, the civil rights community has been fighting for transparency in data as a means of ensuring that Black and Latino students have the same access to high-quality learning opportunities as their White peers. Parents and families need comparable information to advocate for their children. We fought hard to maintain and improve assessments in the Every Student Succeeds Act because we are committed to the principles of equity and transparency in measuring student progress.

We also know that disparities in educational opportunity are not unique to the pandemic.

The American Rescue Plan represents an unprecedented investment by the federal government in our public schools and provides an opportunity to make equitable and systemic changes. At a time when students have experienced more than a year of disruption, disconnect and trauma, we urge school leaders to target these new dollars to advance racial equity and close achievement gaps in education.

… it’s precisely because of the disruption to learning that we need a practical way to measure its impact on students — especially students from low-income backgrounds, students of color, students with disabilities and students learning English.

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