On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Scott Marion, Executive Director of the Center for Assessment, joins Mike and David to discuss why states should maintain annual assessments—even if the Trump Administration waives some federal testing requirements. Then, on the Research Minute, Adam reviews a study comparing surveys and test scores as measures of school quality and predictors of long-term student success.

Recommended content: 

• The Case for State Testing, The National Center for the Improvement of Education Assessment, Inc., (March 2025).
• The Case for Statewide School Accountability Systems, The National Center for the Improvement of Education Assessment, Inc., (March 2025).
• Victoria McDougald, “The case for standardized testing,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (August 1, 2024).
• Michael J. Petrilli, “The best colleges for political diversity,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (April 3, 2025).
• Joshua Angrist, Peter Hull, Russell Legate-Yang, Parag A. Pathak and Christopher R. Walters, Putting School Surveys to the Test, NBER (2025)

Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at [email protected].