Texas brought No Child Left Behind to the nation.
Remember that candidate George W. Bush said that Texas had figured out how to fix the schools. He said test every child every year, post the results, reward the schools where scores go up, humiliate those where scores go down. And, wow, a miracle: the scores go up, up, up; the achievement gap closes; graduation rates go up. Win-win-win-win.
Except it didn’t happen. And now the whole country is stuck with a testing regime that is sucking the life out of education.
This report from Texas describes a growing revolution against testing. The schools are up in arms: 77% of the school boards enrolling 86% of all Texas students have passed a resolution opposing high-stakes testing. The Houston superintendent said that 65 days (out of 180) are consumed by testing.
Now a group known as “Moms Against Drunk Testing” has joined the fray. They are mad as hell and they are not going to take it anymore. Last year, the state cut the school budget by $5.4 billion, while handing a fat contract to Pearson for $468 million. Meanwhile the state wants more and more and more testing.
(A few hours after this post appeared, I received the following message: So glad we have support around the country! Our real name is TAMSA (Texans Advocating for Meaningful Student Assessment) and we have a facebook page and a website. Please “like us” and “join in” on our website! The more members and “likers” we have, the stronger we will be in the upcoming legislative session.
website: http://tamsatx.org/
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tamsatx)
Go, Texas, go! If the testing vampire is slain, the whole facade of faux reform collapses. No test scores, no merit pay, no evaluation by test scores, no closing schools by scores.
Don’t mess with Texas!
I am speaking on Sunday morning to a joint convention of the Texas School Boards Association and the Texas Association of School Administrators at the Austin Convention Center.
On Sunday from 2-4, I am meeting with parents and teachers to talk about the kind of stuff we discuss on this blog. Eastside Memorial High School. Y’all come!
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“Y’all come!” HA!! Classic!
Well, she is a native.
While the link has a bit of a lighthearted tone, don’t ever underestimate the power of mothers. My own mother scored a first round KO over the toughest administrator in my high school, the AP in charge of discipline, who wanted to punish me for defending myself [nonviolently!] against a vicious unprovoked assault [my assailant suffered no penalty]. After a couple of minutes of polite but pointed questions, a bit of logic, and the simple request for rational, fair answers to her questions, the AP threw in the towel and did a bit of groveling. I have a feeling the Texan edubullies have no idea what they’re in for.
Go Mothers Against Drunk Testing!
It would be nice to see this story picked up in mainstream media rather than just the HuffPost.
Can’t believe the turnaround in Texas, where the vampire was born, very impt to keep this going!
So glad we have support around the country!
FYI, our real name is TAMSA (Texans Advocating for Meaningful Student Assessment) and we have a facebook page and a website. Please “like us” and “join in” on our website! The more members and “likers” we have, the stronger we will be in the upcoming legislative session.
website: http://tamsatx.org/
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tamsatx
Thank you!!!
Go get ’em! There are many teachers in this country wishing parents in their states would organize against this insanity.
Looking forward to hearing you speak next Sunday in Austin, Texas!
I will be attending this meeting on Sunday and would love to help get the word out on my blog. I teach just south of Austin. What building will the meeting be held in?
The meeting is 2-4 pm at Eastside Memorial HS in Austin. Free and open to all.
Hey, we really do say “Y’all come!” (And I wasn’t even born here.) I look forward to being at Eastside Memorial High School on Sunday afternoon.
I agree that we are certainly revolting against testing here–although it might be more accurate to say we are revolting against endless benchmarking. That being said, accountability is here to stay, the only question is how best to create a fair and accurate system.