Drs. Slesaransky-Poe and Rosen Sign Petition to End Test-based Policies

By Purnell T. Cropper | February 19, 2015

As Congress revises and reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also known as No Child Left Behind, many professors and researchers are calling for an end to test-based education policies. In an open letter to Congress and the Obama Administration, Dr. Graciela Slesaransky-Poe and Dr. Sonia Rosen joined more than 1,600 researchers and professors in endorsing policies proposed in the National Education Policy Center’s “Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act: Time to Move Beyond Test-focused Policies.”

As Congress revises and reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, we strongly urge departing from test-focused reforms that not only have been discredited for high-stakes decisions, but also have shown to widen, not close, gaps and inequities.  The current reauthorization provides an historic opportunity to leverage federal resources to address the deeper and more systemic problems with strategies that research has compellingly demonstrated to be far more effective in improving the educational opportunities and success of all students, particularly those in highest need.

View the petition.