Dive Brief:

• On Wednesday, testing consortium PARCC voted on cut scores for its exams, which are used by 11 states and the District of Columbia.
• The organization originally opted to keep those numbers quiet but released them on Thursday.
• Its initial reluctance was baffling to test experts, who said it was unusual to keep them under wraps.

Dive Insight:

The misstep was the latest development in the ongoing saga of PARCC’s struggle for a continued foothold in the high-stakes testing industry. The consortium contracted with Pearson to develop the shared test; since then, the private test developer has faced setbacks and lost state-level contracts. Test rollouts have been marred with technical glitches. Other companies have struggled, too. McGraw-Hill opted to abandon its testing business earlier this summer. Measured Progress was replaced in Nevada. The competition between companies can be disruptive for administrators and schools, but experts say educator involvement is key.

“Outspoken leadership by school administrators can play a key role in shaping assessment policy for the better—they are credible voices and a potential powerful constituency,” Bob Schaeffer, public education director at the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, told District Administration.