RE: Exemptions to STAR and other standardized testing

I agree with Michael Novick sentiments, but not with his conclusions.

"Testing that creates 'failures' is pedagogically unsound."

It is not the testing that creates failures. It is our educational system - schoolboards and teachers, and to some degree parents and society.

"Assessment need to be ongoing and part of a feedback mechanism
 that provides resources, coursework, and whatever is needed to overcome the educational deficits exposed by the assessment."

Amen. In-class assessment, objective and subjective, authentic and not, holistcally scored or not. And adjust the teaching accordingly. Help the kids - retain, re-teach, re-assess.

But after all this has been done, you still need to objectively assess if students meet the standards. At that point passing failures as successes is not only pedagogically unsound, it is morally corrupt.