Many districts, such as New York and Chicago, have held children back en masse based on test scores. Sometimes, scores are used to grade schools themselves and shut down those with deficient teaching. Supporters of tests say accommodations or exclusions could cheat disadvantaged students out of fair assessments of their abilities. They also neglect health care, which can affect children's learning ability, critics said. This issue needs federal input,'' said William Spriggs, director of research and public policy for the National Urban League.
Scores show that poor and minority children often are the first to fail such tests.
Massachusetts failed more than 80 percent of black and Hispanic children in its 1998 statewide test. In light of such results, a general parent backlash against testing has appeared in some areas. Massachusetts and New York lowered passing grades for their new tests. State boards in Virginia and Arizona voted to re-examine theirs. Wisconsin scuttled plans for a high school exit exam after a protest lodged mainly by more-affluent parents.