Earlier today, President Obama signed into law the Every Child Succeeds Act, the replacement for No Child Left Behind. What does this mean for school testing? The UPI reports:

"ESSA keeps annual math and reading testing requirements for Grades 3 though 8, but cuts back on high school testing to once before graduation. It also continues to require schools annually report test scores and keep track of demographics including race, economic status and disabilities. While mandated testing will still be a factor in education, it will now be one of many pieces in determining student achievement. States will be able to determine how to handle schools with test scores in the lowest 5 percent or where fewer than two-thirds of students graduate on time. States will decide how to weigh tests, and whether and how to evaluate teachers. They can set their own goals and timelines, although plans must be approved by the federal Department of Education."

As an advocate of affirmative testing, I have my own notion about what this development should mean: It should signal an opportunity for all of us to reconsider how we think about tests, and to begin turning testing into occasions for student learning and growth.

Teachers and administrators from more than 200 schools, as well as many parents of school-aged children, have begun doing just this. They have enrolled in Turn Testing Into Learning, an e-course I designed as a way to deliver the research on affirmative testing directly to the people who need it most.

To mark this moment of potential change, I'm offering a one-third discount on the e-course, today through Monday. Click here, and enter the code 33OFF at checkout, to get your discount.

And please send questions and comments to me at annie@anniemurphypaul.com—I look forward to hearing from you!