This website aims to provide information pertaining to high-stakes testing.  These tests originated in the United States during the 1980s as a result of the publication, “A Nation at Risk”, which indicated that education in other countries was of better quality compared to the United States, therefore they were producing larger quantities of educated workers, which improved the economies.²⁰ Despite this report, which was produced during the Reagan administration, the George W. Bush administration’s “No Child Left Behind” mandate perpetuated the problem with the requirement of high-stakes testing in public schools, for students in grades 3-8 and 10-12th in the areas of math, reading and science tests.²⁰ Once this mandate went into effect, the negative impacts of high-stakes testing affected every aspect of the school realm, from students, teachers and administrators.²¹ This website was established to educate and raise awareness of issues surrounding high-stakes testing and to introduce grassroots organizations that are advocating for change.

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We don’t want kids who are good test takers,” she says, “we want kids who are engaged, curious, and excited. We want them to find a passion they can pursue.”

– Dineen Majcher (Co-founder of Texans Advocating for Meaningful Student Assessment)²⁸

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“Students, parents, and educators know there is much more to a sound education than picking the right answer on a multiple-choice question.”

– Secretary of Education Arne Duncan (2013 speech to the American Educational Research Association)³⁰

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