Across the nation, parents and teachers are resisting the testing mania imposed by the U.S. Department of Education and Congress. It is a good time to remember that education is not mentioned in the Constitution, and that it is traditionally considered a state and local function. The federal government provides only 10% of the funding.
Here is FairTest’s roundup of the latest resistance to high-stakes testing:
Testing Resistance & Reform Spring is taking off across the nation. This week’s stories include articles about protests against standardized exam overkill in a dozen states plus several excellent commentaries. Be sure to post your events and take advantage of the resources available to support your work via the new, simpler URL: http://www.resistthetest.org — as always, feel free to use or adapt the many useful fact sheets at http://www.fairtest.org
Test Skeptics Aim to Build Support Through Opt-Out and Boycott Strategies
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/03/12/24boycotts_ep.h33.html
Educators Boycotting Chicago Exam Spend Day Teaching Not Testing
http://www.wbez.org/news/saucedo-teachers-spend-day-1-isat-teaching-concerns-raised-about-intimidation-109815
National Leaders Support Chicago Test Boycott
Resources for Supporting Chicago Parents and Teachers Protesting the ISAT
Dressed in Clown Suits, Maryland Teachers Protest Excessive Testing
Maryland Super Tells Parents State Test is Useless
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/District_Dossier/2014/03/joshua_starr_to_parents_upcomi.html
Florida Ed Commissioner’s Arrogant Letter Angers Mother of Recently Deceased Disabled Child
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/04/ethan-rediske-act_n_4899010.html
Testing Fixation Drives Florida School Board Member to Quit, Fight on Larger Battleground
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/06/the-drive-to-test-test-and-re-test-leads-famous-school-board-member-to-quit/
Worcester Mass. School Committee Will Allow Students to Opt Out of Common Core Pilot Exam
http://www.telegram.com/article/20140307/NEWS/303079875/1116
More Massachusetts Education Leaders Criticize Double-Testing
http://www.patriotledger.com/article/20140310/NEWS/140319857
New York Protests Intensify as Common Core Tests Loom
Rochester, NY, Teachers Association Brings Suit Against “Value Added” Evaluations
http://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/rochester/teachers-union-sues-over-evaluations/Content?oid=2346958
Connecticut Educators Want to Reexamine Test-Based Teacher Evaluation Model
http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/archives/entry/teacher_union_wants_to_revisit_teacher_evaluation_method
Connecticut Parents Seek to Opt Children Out of Common Core Tests
http://www.ctnow.com/news/hc-parents-opting-out-20140228,0,1363518.story
The Brave New World of “College and Career Readiness” Testing
http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/archives/entry/the_brave_new_world_of_being_college_and_career_ready
North Carolina Families Opt Out of Standardized Tests
http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/03/09/3682922/opting-out-of-standardized-testing.html
Penn. Parents Join Forces to Opt Kids Out of Standardized Tests
http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/parents-join-forces-to-opt-kids-out-of-standardized-tests/article_88aff918-a643-11e3-aa64-0017a43b2370.html
Arkansas Professor Urges 11th Graders to Opt Out of Literacy Test
UA prof calls for students to opt out of 11th grade literacy test
Tennessee Teacher Sue Claiming “Value-Added” Assessment is Arbitrary and Unconstitutional
Virginia Lawmakers Seek to Reduce Number of Standardized Tests
http://www.newsplex.com/home/headlines/Va-Lawmakers-Aim-to-Reduce-Number-of-Standardized-Tests-249339961.html
Nashua, New Hampshire Board Backs Delay of New Test
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/1030167-469/majority-of-nashua-school-board-members-back.html
NEA Pushes Bill to Reduce Federal Testing Mandates
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2014/03/nea_pushes_legislation_to_redu.html
When Education is Nothing But a Test Score
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/03/05/23mcgill.h33.html
13 Ways High-Stakes Exams Hurt Students
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/10/13-ways-high-stakes-standardized-tests-hurt-students/
Believing We Can Improve Schooling with More Tests is Like Believing You Can Make Yourself Grow Taller by Measuring Your Height
Accountability and Motivation — Test-Driven Policies Get it Wrong
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/top_performers/2014/03/accountability_and_motivation.html?cmp=SOC-SHR-TW
Common Core Testing Further Undermines Educational Equity
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/10/the-myth-of-common-core-equity/
I Opted My Kids Out of Standardized Tests, Then Learned a Thing or Two
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/family/2014/03/standardized_testing_i_opted_my_kids_out_the_schools_freaked_out_now_i_know.html
Testing Diverted The War on Poverty — By FairTest Board member Deborah Meier
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/03/05/23meier.h33.html
Parent to Pres. Obama: Why Don’t Private Schools Adopt Test-Driven “Reforms”?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/05/parent-to-obama-why-dont-private-schools-adopt-your-test-based-school-reforms/
What the U.S. Can Learn From Finland
http://www.npr.org/2014/03/08/287255411/what-the-u-s-can-learn-from-finland-where-school-starts-at-age-7
Activists Call for Congressional Hearings on Standardized Test Misuse
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/04/activist-calls-for-congressional-hearings-on-standardized-testing-gets-unexpected-support/
Critics Give SAT Revisions a Failing Grade
The Real Reason the SAT is Changing: Competition from ACT
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/03/05/why-the-sat-is-really-changing-its-facing-tough-competition-from-the-act/
College President: SAT is Part Hoax and Part Fraud
http://time.com/15199/college-president-sat-is-part-hoax-and-part-fraud/
FairTest News Releases
http://fairtest.org/fairtest-questions-college-board-plans-new-sat and http://fairtest.org/node/2964
Bob Schaeffer, Public Education Director
FairTest: National Center for Fair & Open Testing
office- (239) 395-6773 fax (239) 395-6779
mobile- (239) 699-0468
web- http://www.fairtest.org
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This is good to see.
Now people who don’t care will form an opinion, which is better than not thinking about it at all (if you are an American who loves your country, that is).
LikeLike
For your Twitter feed: Copy, paste and ReTweet as often as possible
Join “Testing Resistance” to protect our children & save public schools from blizzard of standardized exam overkill
http://bit.ly/O1Trvi
LikeLike
Some people seem to think the Framers put everything in the Constitution by name and cast it in iron or steel. Some people state this fact as if it should end the debate, but it’s just the opener.
“The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution states: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Since education is not mentioned in the Constitution, it is one of those powers reserved to the states. […]
However, the Constitution still has an effect upon public education in the United States..…”
More about how to answer this disingenuous oversimplification:
http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/edu/ed370/federal.html
LikeLike
Idaho is often overlooked because of it’s small population, but we have a growing opt out movement also. http://idahoansforlocaleducation.com/opt-forms-2/
LikeLike