Exams & Assessment
Testing, admissions, credentialing, grading reform, exam preparation, and assessment operations.
California starts notifying families in ETS student data breach
California says notices to affected current and former public school students began October 16 and will continue into early November, with free identity-protection services offered through ETS.
Kentucky report cards show reading gains as top school ratings fall
The 2025-26 results released Oct. 15 are Kentucky’s last report cards under the current accountability formula before House Bill 257 changes how schools are measured next year.
Ohio expands spring testing probe to 52 more school buildings
A statewide vendor review found significant spring 2026 test anomalies beyond the original Columbus case. Ohio has not alleged misconduct at the newly flagged schools, but districts may face deeper reviews, score questions, and report-card uncertainty.
All Exams & Assessment stories
GCSE 2026 results inch up as Ofqual adds local benchmarking data
England’s latest GCSE results show a small gain for 16-year-olds and a clearer lift in top maths grades, while Ofqual’s updated area tools let leaders compare outcomes and subject uptake locally.
New York’s preliminary test results show a sharper setback in reading
Statewide ELA proficiency fell five points to 48%, while math rose to 57% and science to 47%, giving districts an early benchmark for fall planning before final November data.
Ofqual fines EAL £150,000 over apprenticeship assessment failures
The regulator said 44 learners were assessed against the wrong version of an assessment plan, eight certificates were revoked, and appeals handling also failed. The case shows how weak version control and results governance can affect learner outcomes and employer trust, especially in safety-linked qualifications.
Washington cancels July bar exam after Yakima tech failure
Most applicants now must choose a Sept. 1-2 makeup exam in Tacoma, a transfer to February 2027, or a refund, creating immediate problems for law schools, bar-prep programs, and employers.
Ofqual keeps existing AI rules for England’s qualifications sector
A refreshed policy paper says Ofqual will not create a separate AI rulebook for qualifications in England. Instead, awarding organisations must show any AI use delivers valid, reliable and fair outcomes, with human oversight, quality assurance and clear accountability.
Wearable AI is changing the exam-security conversation before schools are ready
May 2026 exam warnings from Ofqual and researchers show wearable AI is becoming a real assessment-design problem.
New York's math-test outages are a warning shot for digital assessment operations
New York's April 29, 2026 math-test disruption is a useful warning for districts running high-stakes assessments online.
President Trump’s U.S. Department of Education Opens Title IX Investigation into drives a fresh education workflow shift
Source Sierra Sun Times signals a concrete update around 'President Trump’s U.S. Department of Education Opens Title I', with implications for educators and operations.