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Period: to
1900s-Today
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The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
Carl C. Brigham created the first SAT in 1926 and replaced the College Entrance Examination created in 1901. The test was first administered to over 8,000 students in order to provide scholastic scores in order to apply to universities. This was the part of the beginning of standardized testing in America to evaluate student's abilities in reference to a set of standards. -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
This law was passed to provide better quality education and resources to low-income students, but to also provide funding to state educational agencies for higher caliber education in each state. In doing so, this allowed states to focus on higher standards for their students and evaluate them with these standards in mind.
20 U.S.C. § 6301
Source of Law: Statutory (Federal) -
Texas Assessment of Basic Skills (TABS)
TABS was the first standardized test in Texas to evaluate student success among state standards. The state has undergone several remodeling efforts towards the test and today, students take the The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR).
T.A.C. § 101
Source of Law: Administrative (State) -
A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform
This was a report from Ronald Reagan's National Commission on Excellence in Education to shed light on the failure of America's schools in comparison to other nation's education systems. This was seen as motivation to take steps towards a total education reform in The United States. In doing so, standards began to rise for states to evaluate through assessments.
A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform. United States Government Printing. (1983). United States Government Printing. -
Improving America's Schools Act
This law was passed to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and place a focus on having high standards for our students, considering the growth and complexity in society. These higher standards began the requirement of every state having standardized tests for math and reading among third through eighth grade students.
20 U.S.C. § 6301
Source of Law: Statutory (Federal) -
No Child Left Behind Act
This law was passed in order to hold public schools accountable and provide equal opportunities for disadvantaged students. Public schools in each state were evaluated based on their scores their students were receiving on standardized tests. This was to ensure the school was providing a high-quality education to all of their students. This law was in effect from 2002-2015. 20 U.S.C. § 6319
Source of Law- Statutory -
Michelle Rhee
Michelle Rhee ran the Washington D.C. public school system and made it a mission to provide higher quality education in D.C.
In doing so, she raised state assessment scores by providing a pay increase to principals and teachers who showed an improvement with scores at their school. This highlighted the new culture of pressure with standardized testing in public schools. Scandals of principals and teachers cheating on the standardized test, to receive the pay increase, were actually released. -
Race to the Top Funding
The Race to the Top Act was put into place as a competitive grant program to allocate an incentive for States who were providing a high quality education and achieving significant improvements in student outcomes on standardized testing. (ARRA), Section 14005-6, Title XIV, (Public Law 111-5)
Source of Law: Statutory (Federal) -
Every Student Succeeds Act
This law was signed to ensure students have success and recognize that each state must be preparing their students for college and the career field. This law also provided information through state assessments for educators, parents, and students regarding each student's progress towards the State's rising standards. ESSA (2015). Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, Pub. L. No. 114-95 § 114 Stat. 1177 (2015-2016).
Source of Law: Statutory (Federal) -
Standardized Testing Today
Majority of the country utilizes Common Core State Standards and other States have created their own State standards, like Texas, for example. These standards are assessed by a standardized test created by each individual State. Texas has just recently adopted the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness(STAAR) as its standardized test. The U.S. has come a long way since the mid 1900s with evaluating higher standards for all students across the nation.
