The California Alliance of Researchers for Equity in Education recently released a research brief documenting concerns and recommendations related to the Common Core State Standards Assessments in California (also referred to as the CAASPP, California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress or “SBAC” which refers to the “Smarter Balanced” Assessment Consortium).  A two-page synopsis as well as the full CARE-ED research brief may be downloaded from the main http://care-ed.org website.  The following is an introduction:

“Here in California, public schools are gearing up for another round of heavy testing this spring, including another round of Common Core State Standards assessments. In this research brief, the California Alliance of Researchers for Equity in Education (CARE-ED), a statewide collaborative of university-based education researchers, analyzes the research basis for the assessments tied to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) that have come to California. We provide historical background on the CCSS and the assessments that have accompanied them, as well as evidence of the negative impacts of high-stakes testing. We focus on the current implementation of CCSS assessments in California, and present several concerns. Finally, we offer several research-based recommendations for moving towards meaningful assessment in California’s public schools.

Highlights of the research brief are available for download here.
The complete research brief on CCSS Assessments is available for download here.”

Background from the 2 page overview includes the following summary of concerns:

• “The assessments have been carefully examined by independent examiners of the test content who concluded that they lack validity, reliability, and fairness, and should not be administered, much less be considered a basis for high-stakes decision making.
• Nonetheless, CA has moved forward in full force. In spring 2015, 3.2 million students in California (grades 3-8 and 11) took the new, computerized Math and English Language Arts/Literacy CAASPP tests (California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress). Scores were released to the public in September 2015, and as many predicted, a majority of students failed.
• Although proponents argue that the CCSS promotes critical thinking skills and student-centered learning (instead of rote learning), research demonstrates that imposed standards, when linked with high-stakes testing, not only de-professionalizes teaching and narrows the curriculum, but in so doing, also reduces the quality of education and student learning, engagement, and success.
• The implementation of the CCSS assessments raises at least four additional concerns of equity and access. First, the cost of implementing the CCSS assessments is high and unwarranted, diverting hundreds of millions of dollars from other areas of need. Second, the technology and materials needed for CCSS assessments require high and unwarranted costs, and California is not well-equipped to implement the tests. Third, the technology requirements raise concerns not only about cost, but also about access. Fourth, the CCSS assessments have not provided for adequate accommodations for students with disabilities and English Language learners, or for adequate communication about such accommodations to teachers.”…

And the following quote captures a culminating statement:

“…We support the public call for a moratorium on high-stakes testing broadly, and in particular, on the use of scientifically discredited assessment instruments (like the current SBAC, PARCC, and Pearson instruments) and on faulty methods of analysis (like value-added modeling of test scores for high-stakes decision making).”…

For the full research brief, including guiding questions and recommendations, please see: http://www.care-ed.org

As of February 2, 2016, the following university-based researchers in California have endorsed the statement.
University affiliations are provided for identification purposes only.

Al Schademan, Associate Professor, California State University, Chico
Alberto Ochoa, Professor Emeritus, San Diego State University
Allison Mattheis, Assistant Professor, California State University, Los Angeles
Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales, Professor, San Francisco State University
Amy Millikan, Director of Clinical Education, San Francisco Teacher Residency
Anaida Colon-Muniz, Associate Professor, Chapman University
Ann Berlak, Retired lecturer, San Francisco State University
Ann Schulte, Professor, California State University, Chico
Annamarie Francois, Executive Director, University of California, Los Angeles
Annie Adamian, Lecturer, California State University, Chico
Anthony Villa, Researcher, Stanford University
Antonia Darder, Leavey Endowed Chair, Loyola Marymount University
Arnold Danzig, Professor, San José State University
Arturo Cortez, Adjunct Professor, University of San Francisco
Barbara Henderson, Professor, San Francisco State University
Betina Hsieh, Assistant Professor, California State University, Long Beach
Brian Garcia-O’Leary, Teacher, California State University, San Bernardino
Bryan K Hickman, Faculty, Salano Community College
Christine Sleeter, Professor Emerita, California State University, Monterey Bay
Christine Yeh, Professor, University of San Francisco
Christopher Sindt, Dean, Saint Mary’s College of California
Cindy Cruz, Associate Professor, University of California, Santa Cruz
Cinzia Forasiepi, Lecturer, Sonoma State University
Cristian Aquino-Sterling, Assistant Professor, San Diego State University
Danny C. Martinez, Assistant Professor, Universityof California, Davis
Darby Price, Instructor, Peralta Community College District
David Donahue, Professor, University of San Francisco
David Low, Assistant Professor, California State University, Fresno
David Stronck, Professor Emeritus, California State University, East Bay
Elena Flores, Associate Dean and Professor, University of San Francisco
Elisa Salasin, Program Director, University of California, Berkeley
Emma Fuentes, Associate Professor, University of San Francisco
Estela Zarate, Associate Professor, California State University, Fullerton
Genevieve Negrón-Gonzales, Assistant Professor, University of San Francisco
George Lipsitz, Professor University of California, Santa Barbara
Gerri McNenny, Associate Professor, Chapman University
Heidi Stevenson, Associate Professor, University of the Pacific
Helen Maniates, Assistant Professor, University of San Francisco
Cynthia McDermott, Chair, Antioch University
Jacquelyn V Reza, Adjunct Faculty, University of San Francisco
Jason Wozniak, Lecturer, San José State University
Jolynn Asato, Assistant Professor, San José State University
Josephine Arce, Professor and Department Chair, San Francisco State University
Judy Pace, Professor, University of San Francisco
Julie Nicholson, Associate Professor of Practice, Mills College
Karen Cadiero-Kaplan, Professor, San Diego State University
Karen Grady, Professor, Sonoma State University
Kathryn Strom, Assistant Professor, California State University, East Bay
Kathy Howard, Associate Professor, California State University, San Bernardino
Kathy Schultz, Dean and Professor, Mills College
Katya Aguilar, Associate Professor, San José State University
Kevin Kumashiro, Dean and Professor, University of San Francisco
Kevin Oh, Associate Professor, University of San Francisco
Kimberly Mayfield, Chair, Holy Names University
Kitty Kelly Epstein, Doctoral Faculty, Fielding Graduate University
Lance T. McCready, Associate Professor, University of San Francisco
Lettie Ramirez, Professor, California State University, East Bay
Linda Bynoe, Professor Emerita, California State University, Monterey Bay
Maren Aukerman, Assistant Professor, Stanford University
Margaret Grogan, Dean and Professor, Chapman University
Margaret Harris, Lecturer, California State University, East Bay
Margo Okazawa-Rey, Professor Emerita, San Francisco State University
Maria Sudduth, Professor Emerita, California State University, Chico
Marisol Ruiz, Assistant Professor, Humboldt State University
Mark Scanlon-Greene, Mentoring Faculty, Fielding Graduate University
Michael Flores, Professor, Cypress College
Michael J. Dumas, Assistant Professor, University of California, Berkeley
Miguel López, Associate Professor, California State University, Monterey Bay
Miguel Zavala, Associate Professor, Chapman University
Mónica G. García, Assistant Professor, California State University, Northridge
Monisha Bajaj, Associate Professor, University of San Francisco
Nathan Alexander, Assistant Professor, University of San Francisco
Nick Henning, Associate Professor, California State University, Fullerton
Nikola Hobbel, Professor, Humboldt State University
Noah Asher Golden, Assistant Professor, Chapman University
Noah Borrero, Associate Professor, University of San Francisco
Noni M. Reis, Professor, San José State University
Patricia Busk, Professor, University of San Francisco
Patricia D. Quijada, Associate Professor, University of California, Davis
Patty Whang, Professor, California State University, Monterey Bay
Paula Selvester, Professor, California State University, Chico
Pedro Nava, Assistant Professor, Mills College
Pedro Noguera, Professor, University of California, Los Angeles
Penny S. Bryan, Professor, Chapman University
Peter McLaren, Distinguished Professor, Chapman University
Rebeca Burciaga, Assistant Professor, San José State University
Rebecca Justeson, Associate Professor, California State University, Chico
Rick Ayers, Assistant Professor, University of San Francisco
Rita Kohli, Assistant Professor, University of California, Riverside
Roberta Ahlquist, Professor, San José State University
Rosemary Henze, Professor, San José State University
Roxana Marachi, Associate Professor, San José State University
Ruchi Agarwal-Rangnath, Adjunct Professor, San Francisco State University
Scot Danforth, Professor, Chapman University
Sera Hernandez, Assistant Professor, San Diego State University
Shabnam Koirala-Azad, Associate Dean and Associate Professor, University of San Francisco
Sharon Chun Wetterau, Assistant Field Director & Lecturer, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Sumer Seiki, Assistant Professor, University of San Francisco
Suresh Appavoo, Associate Professor, Dominican University of California
Susan Roberta Katz, Professor, University of San Francisco
Susan Warren, Director and Professor, Azusa Pacific University
Suzanne SooHoo, Professor, Chapman University
Teresa McCarty, GF Kneller Chair, University of California, Los Angeles
Terry Lenihan, Associate Professor and Director, Loyola Marymount University
Theresa Montano, Professor, California State University, Northridge
Thomas Nelson, Doctoral Program Coordinator, University of the Pacific
Tomás Galguera, Professor, Mills College
Tricia Gallagher-Geurtsen, Adjunct Faculty, University of San Diego
Uma Jayakumar, Associate Professor, University of San Francisco
Ursula Aldana, Assistant Professor, University of San Francisco
Valerie Ooka Pang, Professor, San Diego State University
Walter J. Ullrich, Professor Emeritus, California State University, Fresno
Zeus Leonardo, Professor, University of California, Berkeley

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California Alliance of Researchers for Equity in Education. (2016). Common Core State Standards Assessments in California: Concerns and Recommendations. Retrieved from http://www.care-ed.org.

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CARE-ED, the California Alliance of Researchers for Equity in Education, is a statewide collaborative of university-based education researchers that aims to speak as educational researchers, collectively and publicly, and in solidarity with organizations and communities,to reframe the debate on education. 

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For Washington Post coverage of the document, see: 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/03/16/education-researchers-blast-common-core-standards-urge-ban-on-high-stakes-tests/

For related posts on EduResearcher, see here, here, and here.
For a collection on high-stakes testing with additional research and updates, visit “Testing, Testing, 1,2,3…”
http://bit.ly/testing_testing