Testing is an 'equity' tool: If some kids are struggling, we need to know

"Getting rid of standardized testing would not create fairness," argues Todd Truitt in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "It would create blindness," making it easy to ignore students falling behind.

Virginia’s Standards of Learning (SOL) tests "are not perfect — no test captures a student’s full creativity or potential — but they remain superior to the subjective alternatives," he writes. Standardized tests are "one of the most important tools we have for educational equity."

In an age of grade inflation, reports cards often paint a rosy picture, Truitt writes. Test scores reveal "uncomfortable truths," and give parents "an outside check on how their children are doing."

Virginia's policy, requiring students to achieve minimum scores on several core SOL tests before graduating, means high school diplomas have some value.

"Middle-school test scores strongly predict later outcomes, including high school graduation, college enrollment, degree completion and career readiness," according to a long-term study of 260,000 students, Truitt writes. Grades can be misleading.

Virginia needs to improve teaching and learning, he concludes. Honesty about students' achievement is the best policy.