Education Week - August 22, 2018 - 30

LETTERS to the EDITOR
Students Are Still Taking
Too Many Tests
To the Editor:
The assessment-reform
movement is alive, strong-and
winning at the state and local
level. When it comes to public
education, it has always been state
capitals and local governments
where key decisions are made, not
Washington.
With the Every Student
Succeeds Act as the law of the land
("Anti-Test Movement Slows to a
Crawl," July 23, 2018), the fight
to make real progress in reducing
standardized exam misuse and
overuse will take place in state
legislatures, boards of education,
and school committees. And we
are making that progress; not

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slowing to a crawl. The number of
states that require an exit exam to
graduate high school has dropped
from more than two dozen to 12-
with Indiana eliminating its test
just this summer.
We are seeing interest in
reducing state testing from the
recently elected governor of New
Jersey and from gubernatorial
candidates in Georgia. New
York, New Hampshire, and
Massachusetts are piloting
alternative assessments that
may prove to be national models.
The NAACP, among other
organizations, is speaking out more
strongly about the need to replace
flawed tests.
Make no mistake, when a
future president and Congress
reauthorize the Elementary and

Secondary Education Act in several
years, testing reformers will be
there. And we'll be joined by allies
from school districts, states, and
community groups where better
assessment policies have already
been adopted and implemented.

PRESIDENT & CEO Michele J. Givens
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER Scott Montgomery
MANAGING EDITOR Kathleen Kennedy Manzo

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Laura Baker

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITORS
Mark W. Bomster, Stacey Decker

ART DIRECTOR Gina Tomko

ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITORS
Kevin C. Bushweller, Liana Loewus, Lesli A. Maxwell,
Debra Viadero

DESIGNERS Marty Barrick, Francis Sheehan

ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR Vanessa Solis

Andre Green

COMMENTARY EDITOR Elizabeth Rich

Executive Director
FairTest
Somerville, Mass.

ASSOCIATE EDITORS Sean Cavanagh,
Christina A. Samuels, Stephen Sawchuk

SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Karen Diegmueller

COMMENTARY POLICY
Education Week takes no editorial
positions, but publishes opinion essays
and letters from outside contributors
in its Commentary section. For
information about submitting an essay
or letter for review, visit

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Swikar Patel
SENIOR ONLINE NEWS PRODUCER Michael Bock

ASSISTANT EDITORS Alyson Klein, Sarah D. Sparks,
Andrew Ujifusa

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER Chelsea C. Torres

ASSISTANT COMMENTARY EDITOR Mary Hendrie

ONLINE NEWS PRODUCER Hyon-Young Kim

STAFF WRITERS Evie Blad, Daarel Burnette II,
Benjamin Herold, Corey Mitchell, Michele Molnar,
Arianna Prothero, Sarah Schwartz,
Denisa R. Superville, Madeline Will

WEB INTERN Sydney McLane

DATA SPECIALIST/STAFF WRITER
Francisco Vara-Orta
SENIOR CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Catherine Gewertz

www.edweek.org/go/guidelines.

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Charles Borst

Education Week Video
CORRESPONDENTS Kavitha Cardoza, Lisa Stark
SENIOR VIDEO PRODUCER Swikar Patel
VIDEO PRODUCERS Erin Irwin, Cat McGrath

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Michelle R. Davis, Marva
Hinton, Brenda Iasevoli, Mark Walsh

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Shaiy E. Knowles

EDITORIAL INTERNS Lauraine Genota, Sasha Jones,
Emily Lytle

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Maria Shaffer

FRONT OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR Naomi Cohen

DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING,
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DIRECTOR, EDUCATION WEEK RESEARCH CENTER Holly Yettick
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, EDUCATION WEEK
RESEARCH CENTER Sterling C. Lloyd

LeBron James Will Not 'Shut-Up and Dribble'

RESEARCH ANALYST Alex Harwin
SURVEY ANALYST Michael Osher

VICE PRESIDENT, DEVELOPMENT & EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS Christopher B. Swanson

What's the greatest moment of basketball star LeBron
James' life? Surprisingly, it has little to do with his
stellar career on the court. Instead, James recently
told ESPN, it was the day he opened the doors of his
new I Promise School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio.

DIRECTOR, KNOWLEDGE SERVICES
Rachael Delgado

EDUCATION WEEK PRESS INTERN Tatiana Collazos

WEB ANALYST Mike Castellano

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PRODUCT MANAGER FOR EDUCATION WEEK PRESS
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LIBRARIAN Maya Riser-Kositsky
DIRECTOR, DEVELOPMENT Joshua Kearns

Writing in a Commentary earlier this month, Jonathan
E. Collins, a visiting professor at Brown University,
argues that this isn't just the case of a rich athlete
using his money for a good cause. I Promise is a
game-changer, in part, because the traditional public
school draws its students from a lottery system, but
not just any lottery system. The school looks for its
future students and then enters them into the pool,
bypassing parental involvement.

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GENERAL MANAGER, GLOBAL SALES &
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Phil Long/AP

For more on how I Promise reflects the needs of its
community, go to: www.edweek.org/go/Collins

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TOPSCHOOLJOBS CLIENT SERVICES MANAGERS
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Recess is at risk of extinction, and there's
more than fresh air and exercise on the line,
writes a New York superintendent, Michael J.
Hynes. The guest opinion blogger raises the
alarm that taking away recess and free play
can have a negative impact on the mental
health of students.

PRINT & ONLINE AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
MANAGER Jeson Jackson

REGIONAL MANAGER, ADVERTISING &
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Play Is Key to Student Mental Health

DIRECTOR OF AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
Stefanie Hemmingson

MANAGER, DIGITAL PRODUCTION Kevin Kemp
EVENT PLANNER, PRODUCTION OPERATIONS
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CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER Chris Hansford
DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL OPERATIONS
David Tashjian

DIRECTOR OF SYSTEMS OPERATIONS Aaron Aleiner
SYSTEMS OPERATIONS TECHNICIAN Jorge Vargas

With depression and anxiety on the rise,
giving students time to feel in control in one
area of their lives is more important than
ever. Recess does just that, explains Hynes.
He warns superintendents not to give it up.

UX DESIGNER Joy Okomowho-Mcleod

For more on how play can transform a
child's life go to: www.edweek.org/go/
Hynes

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Education Week - August 22, 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Education Week - August 22, 2018
