Achieve and the National School Boards Association Announce Partnership to Support School Boards in Reducing Unnecessary Testing

Washington, D.C. — July 28, 2016 —  Across the country, educators, parents, and students are expressing concerns about the amount of testing in schools. To address these concerns, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) and Achieve are partnering to support school board members and their districts to take stock of their assessments and move toward more coherent and streamlined assessment systems.

To support districts in driving toward the minimum testing necessary to serve essential diagnostic, instructional, and accountability purposes, Achieve created the Student Assessment Inventory for School Districts. Released in June 2014, the tool is designed for district leaders’ use in taking stock of the array of assessments administered from a student perspective, and has been used by districts to catalyze real changes in testing practice. School districts that have used the tool have succeeded in engaging multiple stakeholders in productive conversations and reducing testing redundancies.

These early efforts in supporting districts through the assessment inventory process made clear the importance of engaging with local school boards. Although the authority of local school boards varies, most are empowered to act upon recommendations or establish local policies that support the findings of the assessment inventory. School board members are also able to create urgency, generate public attention and provide administrative leaders the space and support for implementing the process and recommendations.

Local school board members are a key link between school districts and communities.  They represent public concerns around testing and can hold district officials accountable. Given the critical role that local school boards play, NSBA and Achieve are engaging with school board members and districts through multiple activities, including:

• Supporting eight districts across three states (Township High School District 214, Galesburg Community Unit School District 205, and Unity Point School District 140 in Illinois; East Moriches Union Free School District and Schenectady City School District in New York; and North Thurston Public Schools, Riverside School District, and White River School District in Washington) in reducing the number of assessments administered using the assessment inventory process. NSBA’s state school board associations helped identify the districts in these states;
• Releasing the “Assessment 101” professional development module for local school board members; and
• Providing assessment inventory training and resources for state school board associations and local school board members through webinars and targeted training.

“We’re so pleased to be working with the NSBA on the critical issue of reducing unnecessary testing,” said Michael Cohen, President of Achieve. “The local school board members that the NSBA supports are well-positioned to bring attention to issues of overtesting and to take concrete action steps to address it. Together, we will be able to provide them with the tools they need to make real progress for the benefit of students.”

“We are pleased to have Achieve as a partner to offer these important assessment tools to school leaders,“ said NSBA’s Executive Director Thomas J. Gentzel. “With the release of the implementation regulations of ESSA, it’s vital that school leaders and policymakers know and are able to evaluate the inventory of tests in their districts.”

These and other resources are available for download here: https://www.achieve.org/assessment101

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About Achieve

Achieve is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit education reform organization dedicated to working with states to raise academic standards and graduation requirements, improve assessments, and strengthen accountability. For more information about the work of Achieve, visit www.achieve.org. 

About National School Boards Association's Center for Public Education

The National School Boards Association (NSBA) is the leading advocate for public education and supports equity and excellence in public education through school board leadership. NSBA represents state school board associations and their more than 90,000 local school board members throughout the U.S. The Center for Public Education (CPE) (www.centerforpubliceducation.org) provides up-to-date research, data, and analysis on current education issues and explores ways to improve student achievement and engage public support for public schools. CPE is an initiative of the National School Boards Association.

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MEDIA CONTACT: Chad Colby (202) 419-1570, ccolby@achieve.org

Kelly Van Beveren (202) 745-2306, kvanbeveren@achieve.org