Position statements adopted by ASCD Leadership Council

High Stakes Testing

Decision-makers in education -- students parents, educators, community members and policy makers -- all need timely access to information from many sources. Judgments about student learning and education program success need to be informed by multiple measures. Using a single test to sanction students, educators, schools, districts, or states is an inappropriate use of assessment. ASCD supports the use of multiple measures in assessments systems that are:

• Fair, balanced, and grounded in the art and science of learning teaching.
• Reflective of curricular and developmental goals and representative of content that students have had an opportunity to learn.
• Used to inform and improve instruction.
• Valid, reliable, and supported by professional, scientific, and ethical standards designed to fairly assess the unique and diverse abilities and knowledge case of all students.

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The Achievement Gap

For all students to excel academically and thrive as individuals, we must close the achievement gap. Educators, policymakers, and the public must understand the grave consequences of persistent gaps in student achievement and demand that addressing these gaps becomes a policy and funding priority. ASCD believes that all underserved populations -- high-poverty students, students with special learning needs, students of different cultural backgrounds, no-native speakers, urban, and rural students -- must have:

• Access to innovative, engaging, and challenging coursework, with academic support, that builds on the strengths of each learner, and enables students to develop their full potential.
• High quality teachers supported by ongoing professional development.
• Access to additional resources for strengthening schools, families, and communities.

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