A rising tide of protest is sweeping across the nation as growing numbers of parents, teachers, administrators and academics take action against high-stakes testing. Instead of test-and-punish policies, which have failed to improve academic performance or equity, the movement is pressing for broader forms of assessment. From Texas to New York and Florida to Washington, reform activists are pressing to reduce the number of standardized exams. They also seek to scale back the consequences attached to test scores and use multiple measures to evaluate students, educators, schools and districts. The nation's second-largest teachers union also took a stand recently against high-stakes testing, passing a resolution in July at its annual convention in Detroit that says the focus on standardized tests has undermined the United States' education system. The American Federation of Teachers approved the resolution unanimously, stating that testing should be used to inform and not to impede classroom instruction. Responding to the enthusiastic embrace of the Texas resolution and educators' statements, the National Center for Fair and Open Testing (FairTest) spearheaded an effort this past spring to craft a statement that would appeal to a broader audience. The result, the National Resolution on High-Stakes Testing, gained initial sponsorship from a dozen other education, civil rights and religious groups. Many local groups also helped launch the signature-gathering campaign. The resolution urges state officials to "reexamine school accountability." It calls for a system "which does not require extensive standardized testing, more accurately reflects the broad range of student learning, and is used to support students and improve schools." It also asks Congress and the Obama administration to overhaul NCLB. At the federal level, the resolution's goal is "to reduce the testing mandates, promote multiple forms of evidence of student learning and school quality in accountability, and not mandate any fixed role for the use of student test scores in evaluating educators." As of mid-June, more than 10,000 individuals from all 50 states and 350 organizations had signed the resolution.