The other day I went to a book party to launch Jesse Hagopian’s new book “More Than a Score: The Néw Uprising Against High-Stakes Tests.” The book is a collection of short essays by activists across the nation. Someone with a guitar sang “We Shall Overcome.” A grassroots movement begins. And, as we see in this post, grows, week by week.
Ever-strengthening assessment reform pressure has kept proposals to roll back test misuse and overuse at the center of education policy debates on Capitol Hill and in many state capitals across the country. This week’s news stories, opinion columns, and advocacy resources come from 22 states as well as Washington, DC
Email Congress Now to Demand Less Federal Testing, End to High-Stakes
http://fairtest.org/roll-back-standardized-testing-send-letter-congres
FairTest Statement to Congress — Grade-Span Exams, No Punitive Consequences
http://fairtest.org/less-testing-more-learning
Independent Test Results Show NCLB Fails to Boost Achievement, Narrow Gaps
http://fairtest.org/independent-test-results-show-nclb-fails
U.S. Senate Seems Unlikely to Push for Test-Based Teacher Ratings
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/senate-appears-unlikely-to-push-for-test-based-teacher-evaluations-in-revised-law/2015/01/27/c985d4a6-a63a-11e4-a06b-9df2002b86a0_story.html
Sign This Open Letter to Sec. Duncan on Teacher Evaluation
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Hzx75h4EcVFIPbpm3icVI0tJqLRACuaF64UkVWNz5JE/viewform
Opt-Out Week in Arizona
http://www.tucsonweekly.com/TheRange/archives/2015/02/02/opt-out-week-on-the-range-day-one
Colorado Teachers Respond to State Report Documenting Test Overkill
http://www.thecherrycreeknews.com/colorado-teachers-respond-testing-report/
A Path Forward for Reducing Testing in Colorado
Florida Parents Defy High-Stakes Tests; Lawmakers Listening
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/education/fl-opt-out-testing-20150130-story.html
Southwest Florida Group Targets Testing Volume and High-Stakes
http://www.nbc-2.com/story/27979752/local-group-aims-to-reduce-number-of-standardized-testing#.VMt_W53F_HR
Editorial: Throttle Down on Florida’s Overzealous School Testing
http://www.bradenton.com/2015/01/29/5607289_throttle-dow-on-floridas-overzealous.html?rh=1
Georgia State Super to Feds: Stop “Measure, Pressure, and Punish” Policies
http://getschooled.blog.ajc.com/2015/01/27/georgia-school-chief-to-feds-stop-measure-pressure-and-punish-approach/#__federated=1
Bill Would Award High School Diplomas to Georgians Denied Them By Exit Exam
http://www.daltondailycitizen.com/news/it-s-all-about-fairness-new-bill-could-lead-to/article_2776182e-a900-11e4-bcb0-e7770b8cb1dd.html
New PARCC Test Sparks Angst Among Illinois Parents and Educators
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/winnetka-northfield-glencoe/ct-winnetka-common-core-met-20150127-story.html#page=1
Stand-off Escalates Over Chicago Schools’ Snub of Federal, Illinois Testing Rules
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20150130/BLOGS02/150139992/standoff-escalates-over-cps-snub-of-federal-testing-rules
Opt-Out Bill Filed in Illinois Legislature
http://www.altondailynews.com/news/details.cfm?clientid=17&id=162018#.VNDLXuFLUZw
Indiana Educators Feel Tested to the Limit by New State Exams
http://www.journalreview.com/news/article_18d7b730-a759-11e4-8de3-a36c6f1f0d93.html?TNNoMobile
Louisiana Opt Out Campaign Gets Attention of State Education Board
http://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/local/2015/01/29/parents-opting-state-testing-bese-concerned/22520161/
Governor’s Executive Order Lets Louisiana Students Opt Out of PARCC Exams
http://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/2015/01/30/just-in-jindal-issues-executive-order-on-parcc-tests/22603021/
Some Maine Parents Balk at Having Kids Take Standardized Tests
http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/15/01/30/diegnan-enters-parcc-fray-with-bill-formalizing-opt-out-procedures/
Maryland Students Stressed by Testing Overkill
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/z/content_type/letters/stressed-by-testing/article_c5947fc5-6345-56f2-8532-fa14e414ed64.html
Massachusetts State Test a Flawed Measure of School Quality
http://somerville.wickedlocal.com/article/20150131/NEWS/150139909/?Start=1
Tests Don’t Improve New Mexico Schools; Economic Opportunity Would
http://www.alamogordonews.com/opinion/ci_27409767/bill-varoula-tests-dont-improve-schools-economic-opportunity
New Jersey’s Landmark Polling on Testing: What it Means
http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2015/01/why-does-public-hate-standardized-tests.html
Educators, Parents Urge New Jersey Commission to Drop or Delay New State Tests
http://www.northjersey.com/news/educators-parents-urge-commission-to-drop-or-delay-new-state-standardized-tests-1.1260069
Bill Filed to Establish Opt-Out Procedures. Bar “Sit-and-Stare”
http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/15/01/30/diegnan-enters-parcc-fray-with-bill-formalizing-opt-out-procedures/
New York City Parents Urged to Opt-Out of Testing Obsession
http://thevillager.com/2015/01/29/ravitch-urges-parents-to-buck-testing-obsession/
North Carolina Superintendents, Education Advocates Join Effort to Reduce School Testing
http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/01/29/4515445_more-call-for-fewer-tests-superintendents.html?rh=1
North Dakota Legislation Would Allow Parents to Opt Their Children Out of Standardized Tests
http://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/education/opt-out-bill-would-ensure-right-to-skip-standardized-tests/article_623f0ae2-e5cb-52a3-9de3-ff36b3afa614.html
Ohio Lawmakers Favor Plan to Trim Testing Time
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/01/28/state-lawmakers-hear-plan-to-reduce-testing.html
Oklahoma PTA Urges Parents to Opt Out of Field Tests
Growing Pennsylvania Opt-Out Movement Shows Growing Resistance to High-Stakes Testing
http://thenotebook.org/february-2015/158154/opt-out-movement-reflects-growing-resistance-testing
Hearing Set on Bill to Repeal Pennsylvania Graduation Exam Requirement
http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/item/77853-should-pa-require-students-to-pass-standardized-tests-to-graduate-high-school
Texas Tests Can’t Measure What Really Matters
http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/latest-columns/20150130-shane-bybee-testing-cant-measure-the-gap-that-really-matters.ece
Virginia Senate Advances Bill to Further Reduce State Testing Mandates
http://hamptonroads.com/2015/01/further-reduction-school-tests-advances-va-senate
Four Seattle Washington Teachers Refuse to Administer State Test
http://www.livingindialogue.com/four-seattle-teachers-declare-refuse-give-tests/
Washington Students Lobby State Legislators: Junk the Science Test
http://kuow.org/post/students-lobby-lawmakers-junk-science-test
Wisconsin School Ratings Must Account for Effects of Poverty
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/opinion/editorials/2015/01/28/school-ratings-must-account-effects-poverty/22490781/
Researchers Urge Sec. Duncan to Drop Test-Driven Teacher Prep Regulations
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/01/28/researchers-urge-arne-duncan-to-drop-proposed-teacher-prep-regulations/
Conservative Columnist Endorses “Choose to Refuse” Common Core Tests
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/397350/choose-refuse-parccsbac-testing-michelle-malkin
Why Won’t High-Stakes Testing True Believers Face Reality?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-thompson/why-wont-arne-duncan-and_b_6542854.html
Activists Share Strategies for Opting Out at Florida Conference
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/01/28/activists-share-strategies-for-opting-out-of.html
How “School Reform” Failed the Test
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/01/28/how-school-reform-has-failed-the-test/
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 
I always appreciate these lists. Thank you.
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Someone with a guitar should sing this:
Gimme a T . . .”T” gimme an E . . . “E” gimme an S . . .”S” gimme another T . . .”T”
What’s that spell?
School!
What’s that spell?
School!
What’s that spell?
School!
Yeah come on all of you teachin’ folks
Billy Gates wants your hearts and souls
He got himself a brave new plan
Makin’ him the big money man
So put down your books and pick up a test!
We’re gonna rate ‘em worst to best
And it’s one, two, three,
What are we testing for?
Don’t tell me, I don’t give a damn!
Common Core’s just a testing scam!
And it’s five, six, seven, cashin’ in with Mister Gates!
Ah, they don’t know poems, they don’t know math!
Whoopee! They all better pass
Well come on Pearson you’d better move fast
Your big chance has come at last
Gotta go out and write that test
Only trick items – a white hot mess
You know that kids should never have fun
Let’s test ‘em all to Kingdom come
And it’s one, two, three,
What are we testing for?
Don’t tell me, I don’t give a damn!
Common Core’s just a testing scam!
And it’s five, six, seven, cashin in with Mister Gates!
Ah, they don’t know poems, they don’t know math!
Whoopee! They all better pass
Well come on Wall Street, don’t move slow,
Its school deform lets go, go
There’s plenty good money on the way
By supplying schools with tests today
Just hope and pray that when the students bomb,
They drag all their teachers along.
And it’s one, two, three,
What are we testing for?
Don’t tell me, I don’t give a damn!
Common Core’s just a testing scam!
And it’s five, six, seven, cashin in with Mister Gates!
Ah, they don’t know poems, they don’t know math!
Whoopee! They all better pass
Now Soccer moms throughout the land
Pack your kids off to test again
Come on fathers, don’t hesitate,
Send em off before it’s too late.
Be the first one on your block
To know your kid’s dumb as a rock
And it’s one, two, three,
What are we testing for?
Don’t tell me, I don’t give a damn!
Common Core’s just a testing scam!
And it’s five, six, seven, cashin in with Mister Gates!
Ah, they don’t know poems, they don’t know math!
Whoopee! They all better pass
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For those of you too young to recall, it goes something like this:
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Right on!
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TAGO!
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For a feel good experience, play the video and sing along with the “Fixin To Test Rag” lyrics. Warning: you may not be able to get the chorus out of your head until Arne Duncan is gone! I can still remember singing this song on the bus during an 8th grade field trip.
For those of you too young to recall, in the pre-NCLB test-and-punish era, teachers used to take entire classes of students on bus trips to interesting and exciting places. No pre-tests or post-tests were required to prove that these were valuable experiences. We have since substituted field tests for field trips. Arne’s Folly has been an entirely different kind of trip.
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NY Teacher,
I was singing it as I was reading it. Well done! Needless to say it was one of many anti-Viet Nam war songs the still need to be played so that new generations will hopefully be better able to resist the “allure” of supposed “honor and glory” in the wars to protect the dealers in death racket.
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Amen brother.
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In Defense of Annual School Testing …editorial in NYT by Chad Aldeman
(much shortened version)
“The idea of less testing with the same benefits is alluring. Yet in practice it would actually roll back progress for America’s students….Coincidentally, the push for limiting testing has sprung up just as we’re on the cusp of having new, better tests. The Obama administration has invested $360 million and more than four years in the development of new tests, which will debut this spring. Private testing companies have responded with new offerings as well.
Today’s eagerness to jettison our commitment to leave “no child behind” is a shame, not just because better tests are on the horizon, but also because it worked.”
…….
The loonies in education are not only located in Indiana. Chad Aldeman is an associate partner at Bellwether Education Partners, a nonprofit education research and consulting firm. He served as an adviser to the Department of Education from 2011 to 2012.
Working for an education research and consulting firm doesn’t guarantee knowledge of what is happening inside the classroom. I wonder who funds this group?
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That’s the nutty argument “we can’t stop doing the wrong thing just because what we have been doing is wrong”.
A recent Columbus Dispatch op-ed argued we have to keep testing because we need to see if the tests work. Wouldn’t it have been better to have actual evidence or trials before a nationwide, full scale roll out? Apparently, it is ok to use “other people’s kids” in the Reformers twisted, dehumanizing experiments. Hey, if we have to sacrifice a generation of students and destroy a few teachers along the way, that must be OK with these Reformers, right? I think we’ve seen this disturbing approach elsewhere in history. These people are not doing this “for the kids”, they are doing this “to the kids”.
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“sacrifice a generation of children”,……. to destroy a public union. The powerful might even sacrifice their own kids, to consolidate the oligarchy. End justifying means.
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“I’ll kidnap a THOUSAND children before I let this company die! And I’ll silence anyone who gets in my way!”
– Mr. Waternoose, Monsters, Inc.
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Carol,
“I wonder who funds this group?”
If you go to the Bellwether site you can find a listing of all their “partners”. You’ll see the usual culprits, oops I mean funders.
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There is a strict limitation now being accepted by “anti-testing movement” leaders. You can’t actually be anti-testing. That would be tactically divisive, because it would separate actual opponents of corporate take-over from the swarms of concern trolls, who want to scale -down testing abuse, not eliminate it.
And then the people would be able to vote the perpetrators of this outrage out of office.
Many of the new opponents of “overtesting” are the long-time soft-side of the corporate take-over drive. They may be sincere, seasoned veterans of the edupunditry, from back on Edweek, who lamented my wild charges and conspiracy theories back in the day. They’re relieved to find a comfortable place at the new accountability table, near movers and shakers who have Lamar Alexander’s ear.
Those are not my headlines somebody keeps rewriting. Who DECIDED to pull the teeth? There is a tidal wave of a movement out there, but it has no voice left with a byline.
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May this grassroots movement grow into a “last” march of the (Par)Ents!
“Unleash the river!”
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“This test in terms of length is right up there with the bar exam.” Georgie Geraghty’s comment in the Chicago Tribune’s “Common Core test spurs angst among educators, parents” says a lot. And NY Teacher’s protest song is priceless.
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