Maryland High School Assessments Opposition

I oppose the use of the Maryland High School Assessments (HSAs) as high stakes graduation requirements.

I believe that the HSA testing program represents an inappropriate violation of local control and a dangerous and unforgivable intrusion into the parent, student, teacher relationship that could literally ruin the lives of Maryland students.

I am proud to join the growing chorus of those who have called for an end to the high stakes use of standardized tests*.




"High stakes testing leads to under-serving or mis-serving all students, especially the most needy and vulnerable, thereby violating the principle of 'do no harm.'"

- American Evaluation Association -- Position Statement on High Stakes Testing.


"Politicians and policy makers who continue to push for high stakes tests and educators who continue to use them have closed their eyes to clearly set professional and scientific standards. They demand responsibility and high standards of students and schools while they let themselves get away with defying the most basic standards of the education profession."

- The late U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone


* Groups who have called for an end to the high stakes use of standardized test results include: American Education Research Association, National Academy of Science, National PTA, National Council on Measurement in Education, The Alliance for Childhood, National Research Council, American Psychological Association, International Reading Association, National Association of School Psychologists, National Education Association, National Council of Teachers of English, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, National Council for Social Studies, National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of Secondary School Principals, American Association of School Administrators, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education (Prepared by the Joint Committee on Testing Practices), American Society for Ethics in Education, American Jewish Committee, Bill of Rights Education Project Center for Law and Education, and the National Center for Fair and Open Testing.