For Immediate Release: September 4, 2020
Media Contact: Phillip Lovell, (202) 494-5004, plovell@all4ed.org
Washington, DC—In response to the U.S. Department of Education’s letter to state chief school officers on annual assessments required under the Every Student Succeeds Act in the 2020–21 school year, the Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed) issued the following statement:
“All4Ed joins a broad coalition of education organizations and civil rights groups in support of states administering summative assessments during the 2020–21 school year. It is critical that schools, families, and communities know how students are doing and can identify those who have been hurt disproportionately by the pandemic. End-of-year assessments are the only way to gather that data at scale, and to enable state and local leaders to direct resources where they are needed most.
These are deeply challenging times, so we urge flexibility from the U.S. Department of Education in determining how states can administer these assessments and, especially, how the results are used for accountability. The focus must remain on supporting students and communities, and without data on student learning, state and district leaders will be navigating in the dark.”
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The Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed) is a Washington, DC–based national policy, practice, and advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that all students, particularly those underperforming and those historically underserved, graduate from high school ready for success in college, work, and citizenship. all4ed.org
