Texas is fed up with the testing obsession. The state has handed over nearly a billion dollars to Pearson in recent years, even as the Legislature cut $5.4 Billion from public education.
For an insiders’ view of the revolt against high-stakes testing in Texas, read Jason Stanford.
He says only two people in the state still defend the testing deluge, and one of them is paid to lobby for Pearson.
That would be Sandy Kress, the same man who is widely acknowledged as the architect of No Child Left Behind. In recent years, he has served on state advisory commissions, testified in favor of more and more testing, written opinion pieces in favor of testing.
But now the game is up. 86% of school boards across the state have said no to high-stakes testing. Moms have organized to fight it. The Legislature is listening. Texas is the place where the testing vampire (as former state commissioner of education Robert Scott called it) gets a stake through the heart.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Washington Post editorial argues against getting rid of Texas end-of-year exams: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/texass-graduation-requirements-fail-to-make-the-grade/2013/04/07/adf51ac6-9df9-11e2-a941-a19bce7af755_story.html
Of course it says nothing about its bias vis-a-vis Kaplan.
Pearson spends a lot of money lobbying. Grease makes the politicians bow down.
We have learned that in spite of the overwhelmingly positive vote for HB 5 in the House, Lt. Gov. Dewhurst is holding it hostage in the Senate and won’t let it be heard unless and until his privatization bills are passed! Too, Perry says he will veto it. The education community, including all the organizations, are outraged at this assault on democracy and on Texas children. So, we saw a huge moment of sanity and consensus. And now this! And, BTW, the Washington Post failed to note that Texas currently requires more credits for graduation than any state. It requires kids to pass 15 end-of-course tests to graduate, plus achieve some mysteriously arrived at cumulative score. HB 5 just dialed all that back a bit to be in closer alignment with other states. Another thing, Texas ranks 49th among the states in per-student expenditures.
Reblogged this on Restore Reason and commented:
Arizona now needs to follow suit!