When will Congress get the message? More and more parents and educators are fighting the education-industrial complex. Good for profit, bad for education. Bad for children.
Fairtest reports:
As the national testing resistance and reform movement rapidly accelerates, FairTest proposes a moratorium on all high-stakes exams to allow time to overhaul assessment at the federal, state and local levels. Check out the plan and incorporate it in your grassroots advocacy!
Time for a National Moratorium on High-Stakes Testing: How It Would Work
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/10/14/how-a-national-moratorium-on-standardized-testing-could-work/
See FairTest Fact Sheet “Time For a Real Testing Moratorium”
http://fairtest.org/time-real-testing-moratorium
Push to Limit Federal Test Mandates Gathers Steam
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/10/15/08testing.h34.html
Federal Standardized Exam Rules Limit Colorado’s Assessment Flexibility
http://co.chalkbeat.org/2014/10/08/state-has-limited-flexibility-on-testing-feds-say/#.VDZ4DcmwRrs
Testing is Key Issue on Colorado Election Campaign Trail
http://co.chalkbeat.org/2014/10/09/testing-issue-follows-candidates-on-campaign-trail/
Connecticut Gears Up to Oppose Common Core Assessments
http://jonathanpelto.com/2014/10/09/connecticut-children-stupid/
Firing Delaware Educators for Low Test Scores is Bad for Students and Schools
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/opinion/contributors/2014/10/09/priority-plan-bad-fit-schools-students/16992367/
Educators Press to Suspend Florida’s Test-Based School Grades
http://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/news/local/educators-push-suspend-school-grades/nhddp/
Florida Parents Say Testing Overkill Taking Toll on Students, Teachers and Schools
http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/news/local-education/testing-is-taking-toll-on-students-teachers-speake/nhc8f
Georgia School Testing Regimen is “A Crippling Lunacy”
http://onlineathens.com/opinion/2014-10-11/blackmon-school-testing-regimen-crippling-lunacy
Georgia Test Scores Won’t Be Used for Grade Promotion in 2015
http://savannahnow.com/news/2014-10-07/2015-milestones-test-scores-wont-be-used-promotion
Kentucky Testing More Aimed at Abusing Teachers Than Helping Students
http://www.kentucky.com/2014/10/13/3478054/education-testing-more-aimed-at.html
Montgomery, Maryland Seeks Two-Year Delay in Common Core Grad Test
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/montgomery-school-officials-asks-for-delay-in-using-new-state-tests-for-graduation/2014/10/08/3678e006-4f12-11e4-8c24-487e92bc997b_story.html
Is Massachusetts Ed. Commissioner Chester Listening?
http://www.telegram.com/article/20141008/NEWS/310089991/1020/mobile
Worcester Mass. Education Advocates Decry Standardized Testing Fixation
http://www.golocalworcester.com/news/worcester-education-advocates-decry-standardized-testing-initiatives
No Matter What Test Massachusetts Uses, Students Will Be Short-Changed
http://www.lowellsun.com/opinion/ci_26701274/no-matter-standardized-test
Bloomfield, New Jersey School Board Adopts Resolution Supporting Parents Who Opt Children Out of Tests
http://www.northjersey.com/news/education/bloomfield-provides-opt-out-for-standardized-tests-1.1108234
Statewide New York Assessment Reform Coalition Launches Online Opt-Out, Letter Writing Campaign
https://www.votervoice.net/NYSAPE/campaigns/37306/respond
Test-Based Teacher Bonuses Hurt Kids
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/local/columnists/bryant/2014/10/10/bryant-voodoo-based-teacher-bonuses-hurt-kids/17055053/
New York Teachers Challenge Gag Order on Common Core Tests
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/local/new-york/2014/10/08/nysut-challenges-gag-order-common-core-tests/16948635/
Bill Would Limit Ohio School Testing to Four Hours Per Year for Any Student
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/10/new_bill_would_limit_state_testing_to_four_hours_per_student_each_year.html
Test-Based Ohio School Grades Distort “Accountability”
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/local/sharonville/2014/10/08/column-state-report-cards-fair-assessment/16477223/
Oklahoma Testing Contract in a State of Limbo
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/10/15/08oklahoma.h34.html
Portland Oregon School Board May Refuse to Set Common Core Test Achievement Targets
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2014/10/in_protest_against_common_core.html
At Forum, Pennsylvania Parents Criticize New Three-Part Keystone Exams
http://mainlinemedianews.com/articles/2014/10/08/main_line_suburban_life/news/doc54354fdb17ccd617348629.txt
In Pennsylvania, All Common Core Testing, No Common Sense
http://www.yorkdispatch.com/opinion/ci_26694982/op-ed-all-common-core-no-common-sense
South Carolina Testing Mess
http://www.clintonchronicle.com/articles/2014/10/10/opinion/columnists/doc54367ce71947f577108028.txt
Use of Test Scores is Big Issue in Texas Governors Race
http://keranews.org/post/how-would-greg-abbott-and-wendy-davis-use-student-test-scores
No Child Left Behind Law is Failing, Not Washington State Schools
Wyoming Fails to Get Testing Right for Yet Another Year
http://trib.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-board-another-year-of-education-testing-failure/article_a2079072-515e-5ce4-9573-32f4520a73de.html
Why Cash Incentives Are Not a Good Idea in Education
http://theconversation.com/why-cash-incentives-arent-a-good-idea-in-education-32494
The Failure of Standardized Testing
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dale-hansen/atlanta-cheating-scandal_b_5945592.html
Pearson’s Wrong Answer . . . And Why It Matters in The Era of High-Stakes Testing
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/10/08/pearsons-wrong-answer-and-why-it-matters-in-the-high-stakes-testing-era/
The Educator and the Oligarch: Anthony Cody Takes on Gates Foundation Policies in New Book
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/10/08/an-educator-challenges-the-gates-foundation/
The Serious Problem of 2014 SAT Scores
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/10/10/the-serious-problem-with-the-2014-sat-scores/
SAT Scores: A Measure of Wealth, Environment
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2014/10/07/sat-scores-and-income-inequality-how-wealthier-kids-rank-higher
http://www.ctpost.com/printpromotion/article/SAT-scores-a-measure-of-wealth-environment-5813422.php
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 
Keep up the fight as we need to save students from this shattered system of education. My powder is dry and am ready to go with the viable alternative to the testing fiasco. This alternative will be the tipping stone that makes a difference. Why? Because people tend to stick with what they have when there is no other option.
Of course, why wouldn’t they? They don’t want to go from the frying pan into the fire. and that’s exactly what they are doing when they try to tweak Common Core and come up with the same thing in disguise. We can point to “value added” as a failed way to tweak the artificial testing results. It’s much easier to come up with rhetoric that does nothing than to change the 18th century slavery based system of education that currently exists.
For solutions keep an eye on http://www.wholechilereform.com
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When we can stop the minority from buying our legislators, we will finally be able to get Congress to take notice of reality. But until the handful who have money enough to buy their ear are quieted and put back in their place, we will always have to fight an uphill battle.
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Convincing Congress to do anything is a waste of time. Change has to come from the bottom up. Implement a plan of action in your school. And remember, most rules aren’t really rules, we just think they are.
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Fairtest has been around for a long time. It’s great to see the group being so active AND that it’s included on this blog. This list is a good resource. It makes me think….at this point I could almost use some sort of color coded diagram and/or map to clarify who the major groups are in this battle over testing and the corporate-zation of public schools. I’m feeling a bit scattered by the scope of what’s going on nationwide. Maybe something like that already exists? But THANKS to Fairtest for being a voice very early on warning what was coming our way. I’m sure it hasn’t been easy to keep the momentum going during some of those years the group has been working.
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There is no fixing public education, crime, public health, etc….until we find a way to end the real problem….poverty and inequality.
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