Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

The Data Quality Campaign on Public's Attitude Toward Testing in PDK/Gallup Poll

  • 08/23/15

The way forward is to provide teachers and parents more value from tests

Washington, D.C —Released today, the 47th Annual PDK/Gallup Poll shows that most Americans believe there’s too much emphasis on standardized testing in public schools. Following is the statement of Paige Kowalski, Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at the Data Quality Campaign, a national nonprofit that advocates for the safe, effective use of education data to improve student achievement:

“Within one week, we have seen two major polls with different conclusions about the public’s opinion toward testing. Regardless of their contradictory findings, it’s clear we need to have a conversation about how the information from tests is used.

“The backlash against student testing came about because teachers and families have traditionally gotten little value from it. Evidence suggests this is changing, but tests need to give parents more than a number that lacks context or meaning.

“Effective testing produces information that’s useful in classrooms and at kitchen tables, information that helps parents answer questions about their children’s education like, ‘Is my child on track to graduate college and career ready?’ and ‘How does my child’s school compare to other schools, so that I can make the best choice about my child’s education?’

“Of course, tests are just one piece of the data puzzle, and the PDK/Gallup Poll shows that the public agrees. To help create a full picture of their child’s learning, parents also need data beyond test scores, like examples of student work and written observations by the teacher.

“Good testing also provides information that educators can use to adjust their instruction and administrators to adjust curricula and the use of time, training, and talent to improve student achievement. Failing to ensure this key information is in the hands of educators and families means we’re not seeing the real value of testing.”

The Data Quality Campaign is a national, nonprofit organization leading the effort to bring every part of the education community together to empower educators, parents, and policymakers with quality information to make decisions that ensure students achieve their best. For more information, go towww.dataqualitycampaign.org and follow us on Twitter @EdDataCampaign.

Featured

  • Rethinking K-12 Schools as a Continuous Learning Experience

    Most students move through three or more separate facilities during their K-12 journey, yet the built environments they encounter at each stage have traditionally been designed in isolation, with little continuity in spatial language, learning philosophy, or physical resources. Each new school is a reset with different layouts, learning models, expectations, and ways of moving through a building. The next generation of school design is making the case that the first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school can and should feel connected through common support systems and infrastructure in the physical environment.

  • Planning with Clarity: Using AI to Make Better Campus Decisions, Not Just Better Designs

    Higher education leaders are being asked to make increasingly high-stakes decisions about campus facilities amid greater uncertainty than ever before. Social and economic pressures, shifting enrollment, and evolving learning models compete with growing deferred maintenance needs to strain even the most robust infrastructure budgets.

  • Virginia Tech Tops Out New College of Engineering Building

    Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., recently celebrated the topping out of Mitchell Hall, which will soon stand as the largest College of Engineering building on campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with Skanska on the 285,500-square-foot facility, which has an expected completion date of winter 2028.

  • Children walking along bright school corridor with motion blur

    How Next-Gen Design Is Reshaping the Student Experience

    The environments where students learn play a crucial role in shaping their growth in and out of the classroom. By centering design on well-being, flexibility, and purpose, districts can ensure their facilities remain vibrant community assets for many years to come.