Advancement Project

Advancement Project (Community Partners). (2010). Test, Punish, and Push Out: How” zero Tolerance” and High-stakes Testing Funnel Youth Into the School-to-prison Pipeline. Advancement Project.

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High-stakes testing and zero-tolerance policies have seriously damaged the relationships between schools and the communities they serve. Instead of supporting the neediest students,  both high-stakes testing and zero-tolerance policies punish students and limit the opportunity for them to reach their goals. The devastating consequences are what we call the “school-to-prison pipeline,” where students are pushed out of school and towards juvenile and criminal justice systems.

• The first section of the report examines the common origins and ideological roots of zero tolerance and high-stakes testing. In the 1980s, the “War on Drugs” led to an enormous expansion of the adult prison population and this tough approach was exported to schools, blurring the line between the education and criminal justice systems.
• The second section of the report examines the current state of zero-tolerance school discipline across the country, and includes local, state, and national data. Students of color are particularly harmed by zero-tolerance policies.
• The third section of the report presents an overview of high-stakes testing and its effects on students, educators, and schools.
• The fourth section of the report examines how high stakes testing and zero tolerance policies combine to push out students who would otherwise score poorly on standardized tests.
• The fifth portion of the report proposes solutions to the destructive effects of zero-tolerance policies and high stakes testing to promote high-quality education.