By Rep. Major Owens
The Newsletter of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc.
September, 2003

No Child Left Behind legislation has unleashed a national testing frenzy that is generating negative consequences for the entire education community; and African American children will again be the biggest losers.

In light of recent revelations about the quality of test questions and the integrity of the data processing of the testing companies, the Congressional Black Caucus must reassert its position against the reckless administration of standardized tests.

Well meaning destructive monsters are usually physical and highly visible whether it is the giant green hulk of recent movie fame or the famous great ape, King Kong, of several decades ago. Free and loose in the nation's schools is a far more destructive but invisible monster- the standardized test.

The No Child Left Behind legislation has unleashed this monster which threatens students, teachers, and the basic integrity of the education process. The stakes are very high. On the basis of test scores students may be held back; teachers, principals and superintendents may be fired; schools may be closed; and some school systems may be restructured or abolished. In New York City, low district test scores led to the dismissal of several superintendents. In Philadelphia, low performance throughout the system provided a rationale for the state's governor to launch an effort to privatize the entire city school system. Elected officials at all levels have become obsessed with test results. There is a rush to measure the output of the education community while minimizing the resource input of the government. The annual release of test score results provides the greatest media opportunities for public officials to "spin" the education function in a profitable partisan manner.

President Bush's No Child Left Behind triumph established a devastatingly one-sided environment for education reform. He implemented national standards for testing with serious penalties for failure. At the same time there is a continuing refusal to recognize national standards for "Opportunities- to-Learn."

Only the teacher training, qualifications and certification provision begins to push for a significant improvement in "Opportunities- to-Learn;" however, the budget cuts of education aid undermines the capacity for meaningful implementation of this provision.

School construction and the improvement of library, science laboratory and technology facilities and equipment remain untouched in this landmark legislation which will certainly not be expanded and improved at any time soon. While the testing process gallops forward, students will not receive any new resources to improve their performance.

The tests will continue to reign supreme unless some new initiative is launched to control them.

The Congressional Black Caucus has a long record of opposition against high stakes standardized tests.

Added to the numerous arguments which expose the danger of the over reliance on testing is a newly emerging crisis-incompetence and corruption in the testing industry.

Indeed, it is first necessary to see the less than fifteen companies who publish and distribute standardized tests as an industry.

The new federal legislation has provided a great leap forward for the testing market. The sheer volume of the surge in new business has overwhelmed the following thirteen test providers:

Standardized Testing Companies

1. TSS Vantage Learning
2. Pearson Educational Measurement
3. Scantron
4. Riverside Publishing
5. Stech Vaughn Company
6. Measured Progress
7. Educational Testing Services
8. CTB McGraw Hill
9. Renaissance Learning Inc
10. Princeton Review
11. Test University
12. Compuline. Com, Inc.
13. Edison Schools (AMS)

The following is a listing of examples illustrating some of the problems which must be confronted and overcome:

• Incompetence in the processing of the test data led to the publishing of district wide test scores which were inaccurate; however, the New York City Chancellor, citing low test scores, had fired several superintendents before the company discovered that a glitch in processing had reported all of the scores at a level lower than the actual record showed.
• Problems with test contents of the math and physics in the New York State Regents Exam led to the forced resignation of the official responsible for the oversight of state testing.
• The scrubbing of test contents to avoid offending right wing zealots is presently under attack by scholars who are protesting the alteration of quotes from Shakespeare and other classical writers.
• Three traditional companies continue to dominate the test design industry despite the great geometric increase in the amount of public school testing.
• Edison Schools, the nation's leading corporate advocate for privatizing education is now a major wholesaler for tests, raising a serious conflict-ofinterest question.

State politicians have begun to view contracts for testing as a part of the patronage pool, thus challenging quality as the primary criteria for the selection of a testing company.

To save the children the CBC must lead the fight to achieve a three year moratorium on testing mandates. Legislation to accomplish this cease-fare will be introduced in September.

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