The best assessment news you probably missed
By Dale Chu and Lindsay Fryer You’d be forgiven for missing it, buried as it is in the weeds of the Trump administration’s fiscal year 2026 budget request. But tucked into the document is something we haven’t seen from Washington in years: a clear, affirmative statement of support for statewide assessments, accountability, and transparency under […]
A love letter to NCLB: A conversation with Kristin Fitzgerald
By Dale Chu As a former member of the Naperville District 203 Board of Education, Kristin Fitzgerald spent over a decade working on the front lines of education, advocating for policies that address achievement gaps. Her tenure on the board—where she helped drive key decisions about school improvement, assessments, and data use—offers a unique perspective […]
Texoma’s testing moves raise red flags
By Dale Chu Don’t look now, but Texas and Oklahoma are turning heads with their latest moves on assessment. Texas is poised to overhaul its assessment and accountability system—and not all of the changes are for the better. House Bill 4, which has already cleared the Texas House with broad bipartisan support (by a vote […]
Beyond test scores—but not beyond what they’re good for
By Dale Chu The post-NCLB push to broaden how we judge school quality is well-intentioned—and overdue in some respects. Headlines like the one from a recent op-ed in The 74, “Beyond Test Scores: 186 Innovative Educators on How to Know a School Is Good” reflect a growing desire for richer, more holistic indicators of student […]
NAEP can’t—and shouldn’t—do it all
By Dale Chu The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is shrinking. Due to budget constraints and shifting priorities, the federal government is scaling back the Nation’s Report Card. Upcoming assessments in science, writing, and U.S. history are being canceled or limited to fewer grade levels. Fewer students will be tested. Fewer data points will […]
When a test notice becomes a culture war memo
By Dale Chu Standardized testing season typically brings reminders about sleep and snacks—not culture war disclaimers. But a recent message to families from my daughter’s Colorado charter school, sent ahead of this month’s fourth-grade social studies test, took a very different tack. Rather than a straightforward update on logistics (which, to be fair, parents received […]
March Mathness: Behind and beyond the scoreboard
By: Dale Chu March is here, and with it comes the return of March Mathness—a time to spotlight state-led efforts to improve math achievement. While the tournament gives us plenty to cheer about (just ask my colleagues and erstwhile math judges Jocelyn Pickford and Chad Aldeman), it’s also worth asking: Are we actually fixing math […]
An obtuse angle on the honesty gap
By Dale Chu Virginia’s latest bid to raise academic standards took center stage at last month’s state board of education meeting, where policymakers debated the future of the state’s proficiency benchmarks. At the heart of this discussion is Virginia’s “honesty gap”—the misleadingly high proficiency rates reported on state exams compared to the more sobering results […]
Dodging an assessment bullet
By Dale Chu In an interview Miguel Cardona gave before he stepped down, the now former education secretary offered a curious answer to the question of his biggest regret. Here’s what he said: You never punch out. There’s always more you can do. I wanted to do more in terms of assessments. I think our […]
NAEP sounds the alarm on math. Who’s paying attention?
By Dale Chu The latest NAEP math results are in, and they confirm what many have feared: our students remain in a deep hole when it comes to student achievement. The Nation’s Report Card has long been an invaluable barometer of academic progress, and this new data should serve as yet another wake-up call. But […]