Letter by Dr. Lorrie Shepard to the Colorado Commissioner of Education and State Board of Education Regarding Statewide Diagnostic Tests in Fall 2020

On June 15, 2020, a group of Colorado education organizations wrote to Colorado Commissioner of Education, Dr. Katy Anthes, proposing that a statewide “diagnostic” test be administered to students as they enter school this fall. They argued that such a test would help districts address differential learning loss due to COVID. Their letter is available here.

A Chalkbeat article about the proposed test can be found here:
 
CADRE faculty partner, Professor Lorrie Shepard, raised serious concerns about the potential harm of such a test in a follow-up letter to Commissioner Anthes and State Board Chairwoman Angelika Schroeder. Professor Shepard’s letter is available here.
 
Dr. Shepard thanks colleagues Elena Diaz-Bilello (CADRE), Kathy Escamilla (BUENO Center for Multicultural Education), Kevin Welner (NEPC), Scott Marion (Center for Assessment), and Jorge Garcia (CABE) for their help with the thoughts and wording of this letter.

Link to Resource

Additional resources:

"Learning as We Go: Principles for Effective Assessment During the COVID-19 Pandemic" - Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) (July 2020)

"Blueprint for Testing: How Schools Should Assess Students During the Covid Crisis" - FutureEd (July 2020)

"Restart & Recovery: Assessment Considerations for Fall 2020" - Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) (July 2020)