Greg Taranto, principal of Canonsburg Middle School, was named was named 2012 Middle Level Principal of the Year by the Pennsylvania Association of Elementary and Secondary School Principals.
He now joins our Honor Roll for his courage in speaking up for students and good education.
Taranto says that testing is out of control, it is absurdly expensive, draining resources from schools, and of course he is right. Everyone seems to know it except our legislators in the statehouses and Congress. Parents know it. Teachers and administrations like Taranto know it. Students know it.
We no longer have schools devoted to development of every child’s full human potential, but devoted instead to ever higher scores on standardized tests. How did the testing industry manage to capture the minds and hearts of our policymakers? Don’t they realize that tests are useful for diagnostic purposes, but they are not the goal of education. They are a measure, they are not a replacement for instruction.
Taranto writes:
Testing makes a lot of money for education companies. Here in Pennsylvania in 2013 we paid more than $200 million to the company responsible for the development of the Keystone exams — tests aligned with the Common Core curriculum (known as PA Core in Pennsylvania). Our state legislators just approved another five “optional” Keystones in the coming years. Can you imagine the cost to taxpayers?
Unfortunately, the many-headed hydra of standardized testing is not like the mythical creatures made by my seventh graders. It is real. And we need real heroes to slay the beast.
Parents and educators must start speaking out and talking to our school districts, school boards and state and federal legislators. State and federal legislators are especially important, because they are the ones mandating tests such as the PSSA and the Keystones and thus tying the hands of district officials and school boards.
Some groups already engaged in this fight include Education Voters PA, Yinzercation, PA Against the Common Core, the Network for Public Education and Fairtest.org.
Do you think testing has gotten out of control? Please become a hero in the fight against this many-headed hydra. We need more ordinary heroes — people like you and me — to wrest control of our kids’ education away from the testing beast and to restore educational agency to parents, teachers and principals.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
We are proud of Dr. Taranto here in Southwest Pennsylvania! He is truly a hero of public education.
“Parents and educators must start speaking out and talking to our school districts, school boards”
I am speaking to the local people, district and board, but I’m not wasting my time on state and federal.
As far as I can tell, public schools are caught in the middle of a huge crowd of national ed reformers, some of whom are pushing “accountability” and some of whom are pushing “choice”. Then there’s the true believers pushing both.
They forgot all about actual kids in actual, existing public schools long ago, if indeed our schools and our kids were ever a concern.
I struggle with opt-out, however. I’m afraid all I’ll do is undermine my kid’s trust in his teachers and the local school- people and a place he likes and feels secure in – and since the local school and his teachers had absolutely nothing to do with the nutty and obsessive “accountability movement”, that seems counter-productive to me.
“I struggle with opt-out, however. I’m afraid all I’ll do is undermine my kid’s trust in his teachers and the local school- people and a place he likes and feels secure in – and since the local school and his teachers had absolutely nothing to do with the nutty and obsessive “accountability movement”, that seems counter-productive to me.”
Chiara,
You have mentioned this before. I’m not sure why you believe that you will “undermine my kid’s trust in his teacher and the local school”. The teachers and the school will have brought the mistrust on themselves by being GAGAers and not standing up against these nefarious educational malpractices. The vast majority of the students by the time they get to middle school know that these tests are bovine excrement, that is nothing new.
It seems to me by not addressing the multiple concerns that you (and any other critical free thinking adult) have with your child you will, in the long run, undermine your child’s trust in you. More likely than not your child will figure out the insanity and then wonder why you haven’t done anything to fight it (at least in his/her instance).
“The teachers and the school will have brought the mistrust on themselves by being GAGAers and not standing up against these nefarious educational malpractices. ”
Well, I disagree with that. I don’t think they “brought this on themselves”. I think they were trying to do their jobs and they got a bunch of ill-informed, mostly politically-motivated lunatic mandates.
The same thing happens to me practicing law.
Obviously they don’t think this is their hill to die on. I think that’s a judgment call that they’re entitled to make. I don’t work in a school.
Chiara, I would worry more if my child were developing an uncritical, unreflective, reflexive trust in arbitrary authority. One finds that among cultists. And kids are smart enough to distinguish between their teachers and the powers forcing them to subject children to these abusive tests.
It’s unlikely he’s going to “develop” that in my house, with his parents, all due respect 🙂
He’s a fifth grader. He’s the fourth of ours thru that school. He trusts them because they are generally trustworthy.
I think it;s nice that he has a team player approach to his classmates and school. He’s 11. I would hope he could keep this generally child-like attitude a little longer 🙂
I get it, and I support anyone who is doing it, but I do think there are tensions inherent with the idea of “we’re all in this together” along with “I’m opting mine out” that I struggle with.
I actually think it’s a huge contradiction for the “choice” movement, too. They’re all about “my choice” unless it comes to testing.
He doesn’t take the CC until next spring, so maybe by then I will feel differently, or, actually, HE will. Right now he doesn’t want to opt out.
Read the reactions of the parents’ descriptions of their children’s reactions to the tests on TestingTalk.org. What they describe is abuse.
Look at the posts about these tests on TestingTalk.org.
TestingTalk solicited feedback for good or ill. What is the overwhelming reaction to the PARCC (spell that backward) and SBAC tests? Well, I think it would be appropriate to say that it’s a mixed reaction. It’s mixed among
Horror
Frustration
Depression
Incredulity/Disbelief
Anger/Rage (most common)
with a little (but precious little) Resignation thrown in.
People are NOT happy.
Tests should cover curricula.
No national agency should specify curricula.
Therefore, no national agency should create mandatory tests.
QED.
I was walking down the street and ran into a student from one of my past schools today. I said a warm hello and inquired about her older sister and mentioned to say hello to her. She proceeded to lower her eyes and to tell me that her sister was hospitalized right now. I knew her sister and she was a delightful and highly creative girl. So I inquired… I hope it is not serious and she is getting better. The student told me that her sister was very stressed by school so much so that she started cutting her wrists and had to be hospitalized for depression. My heart sank! The girl is in 7th grade now. Bill Gates, David Coleman and all the “ed reformers” need to go back to the hole they crawled out from and leave our nation’s students alone before there is no return. The abusive atmosphere caused directly by their reforms is hideous and abusive – enough is enough. This relentless focus on testing and data is abusive to children’s healthy development as well as professionally abusive to teachers.
I hope he creates an entire network throughout the state that refuses to take the tests. Apparently the tests are lined with gold or something. The cost to the taxpayer is outrageous. I thought Republican governors would want to see an end to wasteful spending. yeah right.
Kasich of Ohio, likes wasteful, if it lines the pockets of wealthy campaign donors. The only requirement is that, the money comes from the middle class taxpayers.
Maybe this needs a rerun. What a waste of resources! Pyramid scheme!
From the guy who worked for Pearson…https://dianeravitch.net/2012/12/27/11990/ I want to know when the trials will begin for crimes against humanity?
This Thursday-I am speaking as a panel member to our PA legislators regarding the Keystone mandates. I am presenting from the perspective of parent and teacher. I have 7 minutes to open-I need some ideas for my impact statement-Thanks