Fairtest on Bush Education Promises

for further information: Dr. Monty Neill (617) 864-4810 or Bob Schaeffer
(239) 395-6773

for immediate release Friday, September 3, 2004
BUSH TEST EXPANSION SCHEME WILL LEAVE MORE CHILDREN BEHIND,
DUMB DOWN EDUCATIONAL QUALITY
PUBLIC WANTS BETTER SCHOOLS, NOT MORE MANDATORY EXAMS

President Bush's campaign proposal to require high school students to
take "a rigorous exam before graduation" will leave more children behind
and dumb down the quality of education in many public schools, according
to the National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest).

FairTest Executive Director Monty Neill explained, "President Bush seems
to think there's nothing wrong with America's schools that another test
can't solve. But the record shows that government-mandated exams end up
pushing more students out of school without diplomas. In Texas, the
dropout rate soared after state tests were imposed. At the same time,
independent measures demonstrate that overall educational quality in
Texas did not improve. This year, for example, SAT scores in Houston
declined sharply, including an enormous 19-point plunge among African
Americans and Hispanics -- the very students the President claims will
be helped by ever more testing. This is a direct result of policies that
forced teachers to focus on the narrow content of the state's exams, not
the far broader range of skills needed for success in college and life."

"The exam expansion proposal will worsen the many educational problems
already arising from the Administration's over-emphasis on standardized
test scores in the so-called 'No Child Left Behind' law," Neill
continued. "As recent opinion polls demonstrate, the public has
recognized that more tests are not the solution to the very real
problems that face some U.S. schools."

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Fact sheets and reports demonstrating the flaws of high-stakes testing
programs, including the recent report "Failing Our Children: How 'No
Child Left Behind' Undermines Quality and Equity in Education" are
 
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