Jeffrey Weiss has a terrific story in the Dallas Morning News about the Texas moms who beat the powerful testing lobby.
Whenever anyone says that democracy can’t defeat the plutocrats, think of Texans Advocating for Meaningful,State Assessment. they said, “Enough is enough.” And they got busy.
The moms not only organized an effective opposition to Pearson’s lobbyists, they changed the minds of legislators who had blindly followed the ideology that tests improve schools.
Here is where the story begins:
“For 13 legislative sessions across 34 years, every time Texas passed laws about school testing, the numbers and stakes had grown. That ended in 2013, when a series of laws passed that not only demanded changes in testing, but also challenged the legitimacy of the test-based accountability system. All without a single dissenting vote.
“That enormous shift in attitude is still raising echoes nationally. And as legislators prepare for the next session, they’re discussing ways to further reduce the number and influence of tests.
“How did that happen? This is the story of how the Texas testing bubble popped.
“In weather forecasting, there’s a saying that the flapping of a butterfly wing can eventually cause a hurricane on the other side of the world. Small things can have huge and unforeseen consequences.
“The battle over testing in Texas public schools was upturned last year because of four lines in a 35-page law. That and a back-to-school night at an Austin high school.”
Learn how a group of determined moms made the difference. Many people call them “Moms Against Drunk Testing.” As do I.
They inspire parents everywhere.
Yes, we can. Yes, we can free our children and grandchildren from the maws of the testing industry.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
How can we do the same thing here in New York to undo the state-supported charter school takeover?
Contact the TAMSA moms. You will find the slide show interesting that’s available on the website. Note that Pearson’s Texas contracts from 2000-2015 total $1,178,723,689.00. It’s important to know that Pearson’s chief lobbyist, Sandy Kress, one of the NCLB architects was completely blindsided by TAMSA.
http://www.tamsatx.org
To undo the NY charter movememt, the process would be similar.
beautiful
Texas Moms can spot a “wolf in sheeps clothing”.
These parents were amazing. Their ability to push back Pearson and the their legislative buddies proved parents/voters can impact this testing madness.
“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned……!!!
Pearson’s lobbyist will not have a chance against TAMSA! These Mommies will not
allow their children to be abused!
Women Warriors! About time! Thank you Texas Moms!
We’re conducting community meetings because we’re building a new school to replace our old schools.
I spent Tuesday and Wednesday in a group that included teachers, parents and representatives from the rest of the city (business people, ministers, etc.)
The discussion on testing was really interesting. The question came down to whether this city can design their new school WITHIN the confines of federal and state mandated standardized testing. They want to try some new things; project based learning was popular with the community group.
I know more about the testing, because I read all you rabble-rousers, but the other business people there had no idea that teachers in Ohio are ranked (50%) based on their students test scores.
The unanimous conclusion from the business people was testing would drive EVERYTHING, given that set-up. You manage what you measure.
It was amusing too, because we have a (paid) moderator for this process, and he could not steer the group back to the task of learning about the various options for schools. The group wanted to stay on testing, so they were ignoring the moderator’s prompts and he was effectively sidelined when it turned into cross-talk between the teachers and the business people. The teachers were in the position of, well, TEACHERS, telling the rest of us how this process works, etc.
My conclusion after yesterday was people outside education don’t understand this. They don’t work in schools and “accountability” sounds good, but they haven’t thought it through. When they DO think it thru they reject it. They don’t want this focus on test scores, because it drives EVERY decision, inevitably, which is obvious to outsiders but apparently not obvious to ed reformers.
“Nothing angers a bitter adult more than the pleasures of a child”!
That quote describes the “disturbed” CC supporters and Pearson who design tests to “intentionally” confuse, frustrate, and intimidate children.
These people are child a users. They are sadists. They must be stopped!
Thank you TAMSA!
Trisha Alexander, PPCD: the quote you begin with is terrific!
If you could be so kind, where did you get it from?
😎
from the delightful work of Paul Thomas:
http://radicalscholarship.wordpress.com/2014/04/02/on-children-and-childhood/
Bob Shepherd: thank you.
😎
A lot of TAMSA’s power comes from their expertise in many professions such as law, medicine, mental health, government, business, and education; however, I think most of their power comes from their genuine knowledge of children’s developmental needs and their determination to see that those needs are protected and supported in the schools.
“Texans Advocating for Meaningful,State Assessment”
By definition there can be no such thing as ‘meaningful state assessment’ if that term is referring to some form of standardized test. Now, if it means assessing in a way that focuses on inputs and the teaching and learning process then that’s a different story.
Texans Advocating for Meaningful Student Assessment (TAMSA) – not state.
Perhaps everyone here already knows this, but the two words that precipitated what I consider a “break through” in understanding why the tests inevitably drive every decision in public schools in our community group yesterday were “high stakes”.
That distinction is crucial, because of course there are plenty of assessments that are used for measurement that are NOT high stakes.
Once people understood how much is riding on the test scores in ed reform schemes, they immediately understood how the testing has come to drive every decision in our schools over the last decade of ed reform, inevitably and predictably.
They simply didn’t buy that public schools would be able to make decisions that are NOT grounded completely on test scores, when state and federal policy dictates that there are huge consequences for schools and teachers based on test scores.
They didn’t buy it because it doesn’t make any sense 🙂
Of course schools are basing everything on test scores. That’s the federal and state policy. They don’t have any choice. They focus elsewhere at their own peril.
“. . . there are plenty of assessments that are used for measurement that are NOT high stakes.”
But those assessments are not “measuring devices” therefore to assume that “something” is “measured” is a falsehood. Although we “numerize” the results (that is to assign some number to a result or as Bob S. calls it numerology) it does not mean we have “measured” anything. To believe that one is “measuring” the teaching and learning process is akin to believing that the Easter Bunny delivers eggs.
Brilliant reporting. Thanks for posting–gives me hope.
I contacted the Dallas Morning News, which is easy to do, through Diane’s link, thanking them for the coverage.
CBS, the new Fox, receives its “thank yous”, from the oligarchs, in $$$$$$.
The Dallas Morning News, however, is run by oligarchs who only rarely allow articles that call for sanity.
They are hook-line-and-sinker, part and parcel with the 1% crowd who seeks to take over the schools and spread the wealth around to themselves and their cronies.
They will rake in more money by starving the schools of teachers, books and repairs. It’s already well underway.
The paper railed against TAMSA for reducing the number of tests to 5 from 15. The DMN editorialists literally predicted doom if kids didn’t have to take 15 tests to graduate.
They’re complete sell-outs.
They are completely NUTS.
It’s interesting that the fight came about because the test score would account for part of the class grade. Good for these parents for fighting back. I hope they continue the fight when the test scores are just used to evaluate teachers.
When I lived in Massachusetts, I believe students had to pass the MCAS in order to graduate HS. I don’t know if that is still true.
Can we appeal to Texas Moms to help the nation? Bush era test-based education law strapped the nation with the “ideology that tests improve schools.”
Help undo it with a national petition to the executive to use the bully pulpit to explain the federal role in testing children. White House petitions need 100,000 signatures in 30 days. This one ends April 16th. http://wh.gov/lV7q7
What I can’t understand is how the largest overstep by the federal government in education – No Child Left Behind – has gone unchecked 13 years later!
If you need to know more about the petition to act on it, here is a temporary site with the story http://itemactions.us/
Congratulations to these Moms! There needs to be much more of this and then the testing madness will end.
Thanks for the shout-out!
TAMSA was, as I wrote, the last vital ingredient. Lots had to have happened first and alongside for their work to have been successful. And I think it was absolutely key to their role that they did not get pulled into any of the other worthy issues in education these days. Laser focus. All of which makes the Texas experience a real challenge for those seeking to replicate it elsewhere.
Just adding congratulations to NJ moms–and dads–who recently introduced a bill to their state assembly to ban standardized testing prior to third grade!
So important to grab this bull by the horns in the earliest years of education. Otherwise, we risk squashing the passion for learning, not to mention inducing levels of stress that have real impact on kids’ ability to learn.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-ochshorn/racing-to-the-tophttpsblo_b_4412040.html
True heroes. It is amazing how the testing industry grew and grew. Can you imagine what could have been done with that money?