Whatever Changes the Feds Make, They Must Keep Requiring Annual State Exams

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Recent national and international assessments demonstrate that American student achievement is in steep decline. 

Results from the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) showed that only a third of students are reading at grade level. On the International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), an international assessment of math skills in 64 countries, American math achievement dropped 18 points for fourth graders and 27 points for eighth graders between 2019 and 2024. In both grades, American students were outperformed by peers in China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and many European nations. 

Lawmakers need to take action to drastically improve student outcomes, and President Donald Trump’s promises to put parents in the driver’s seat and ensure states are in control of their education policymaking could be good steps in that direction. But a few federal K-12 education policies are mission-critical and should remain in place to fuel this effort. 

One is the federal requirement that all states administer annual tests that measure learning for every student in third to eighth grades and once in high school. This critical backstop protects states from powerful special-interest groups seeking to eliminate the transparent information about student achievement that state tests provide.       

Massachusetts’ November election results demonstrate the power of these groups. The Massachusetts Teachers’ Association reportedly contributed over $7 million to the campaign to eliminate the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), which measures 10th graders’ knowledge of English, math and science as a graduation requirement. 

Although most students pass the MCAS on their first attempt, the union pointed to the achievement gap among groups of students surfaced by test results as a reason to eliminate it. In November, voters approved a ballot measure to eliminate the MCAS as a graduation requirement, effectively weakening high school diplomas for all students in the commonwealth.

Unlike report cards and observations, which are subjective, statewide assessments are the only source of objective and comparable information about student performance. These exams provide policymakers and the American public with important insights on America’s readiness as a nation to meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. 

These assessments also supply parents with transparent information about how well their child is being served. State tests provide apples-to-apples comparisons about the performance of a school relative to others – information that is essential for enabling families to make informed decisions about what’s best for their children.

Arguments against testing often focus on the ways in which educators respond to assessments by narrowing the curriculum, but those issues point to a lack of instructional leadership, which is not resolved by eliminating a test. Others complain about the inability of annual state tests to provide timely data to help inform day-to-day instruction. While very important, this is not the purpose of yearly assessments. Rather, a continuum of tests, including benchmarking exams and daily knowledge checks, ought to be used to inform school- and classroom-level instruction.

Finally, there are those who simply don’t like the results of the assessments and seek to eliminate them rather than using them to ensure learning for all students. This is a little like blaming a thermometer for a fever. As a nation, America cannot afford to hide from the truth. The nation’s education system needs to improve, and assessments are the way to measure progress. 

Without statewide assessments, parents, educators and policymakers lose access to clear, comparable information about student performance. This will not prepare children better; it will hurt them. It will not empower parents to make informed choices about their children’s education, but rather obscure critical information. The federal requirement for states to administer annual assessments provides important cover against special interests’ efforts to eliminate transparency.

Now more than ever, all students should have access to an education that will prepare them for the 21st century. As the Trump administration works to connect the dots among education, the workforce and the economy, it can empower state leaders and parents by continuing the federal requirement for statewide annual assessments. This federal role is the best way to protect systems from special interest groups and ensure policymakers, parents and the American public have the clear, transparent, meaningful data they need about how well students are learning.

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