Just received this:
“Dear Department of Education,
You should be proud of your Administrators and your principals. They are acting in full support of your harmful programs. They are choking out the words “these tests are very useful to your children”, and they “will not be able to determine the academic needs of your child” without them, while giving up countless hours of sleep for acting against their conscience. They sign their names to memos that state little white lies, perversions of the truth, and sometimes flat out falsities, while their stomachs turn and their palms sweat. They are even changing entire school policies that have worked well for years, just so that you can believe they are in full compliance. You should be proud of them. They are acting like good little soldiers and going against their own best interests and the best interests of the students. They are willing to turn on the very parents that are trying to save them and their schools. You should be very,very proud.”
“Jeanette Brunelle Deutermann”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Jeanette has nailed it. ‘Hard to accept that this is happening in America.
J,
Well written. The same applies in New Jersey.
Bullying, scapegoating, and the personal intimidation of our Governor has kept almost all of the District Superintendents silent.
Compliance has a place and a price. Educators will pay the costs.
The lies keep coming too. We were told that to comply with the common core, all English classrooms must now be 50% fiction and 50% nonfiction. I know you,and many others, have tried to clear this up, but the people in charge don’t care. I was told today by a collegue to “get over it” when I once again tried to explain the truth. Are people buying in, do they not read or are they just apathetic? How is this destruction of education continuing?
Folindy, I have had the same experience with the fiction/non-fiction percentages. Seems that there is a purposeful double narrative.
Sorry, Flolindy.
That 50 percent split in ELA between non-fiction (I refuse to call it informational text) and literature is indeed an assertion of one of the queen bees at NYSED. I heard it myself in one of those state “teaching” sessions. And now they have handed us the holy grail of 9-12 ELA curriculum to complement their p-8 modules. We have been told that we can “adapt, adopt, or ignore.” What do you want to bet that the new mantra will be submit?
Sheery, we too were given the modules. Emerson in the 9th grade? Of course, educators didn’t create the modules; a corporation did.
Readingexchange, thank you for sharing.
“They are acting like good little soldiers and going against their own best interests and the best interests of the students”
how about us “good little soldiers” start “fragging” our officers!
Jeanette– I had a dream that all of the teachers who are also parents of children taking the standardized tests opted their own children out —– what a statement that would be!!!
Marge
Marge, on Long Island, teachers are doing just that!! We have over 3,000 people on our opt-out page and many are educators opting their own children out!
Jeanette-you said it !!!When I would constantly complain to the teachers and administrators about all the time spent on standardized testing over the past seven years my children had to take them, I was always told how their hands were tied and it infuriated me!!!! I commend your efforts and am on your page in so many ways. THANK YOU!!!!
Wonderfully worded. I hope they will listen.
I am a teacher and I am having my daughter “refuse” to take the test. Believe me it was a huge weight lifted from her shoulders and my little girl is back. As a teacher and a parent I have never felt so much stress as I do with all that is going on in our schools. Being on both sides is no fun. : (