According to the Cherry Creek News, Colorado parents are trying to beat back another high-stakes testing bill by State Senator Michael Johnston. This one is aimed at kindergarten children. They would be required to pass a reading test or take remedial instruction.
Maybe kindergarten kids will stage protests or their parents will.
The last education reform bill by Johnston made test scores 50% of every teacher’s evaluation. He called it “Great Schools, Great Teachers,” all accomplished by the magic of standardized tests. That was 2010. How did that work out?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Why not just use height or weight for that determination? It would probably be just as valid, reliable, credible and useful as the proposed testing and would have the benefit of providing actual “data” to support the decision. The necessary remedial action would then be readily apparent . . .
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The rack?
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We have to remember that Senator Johnston is a shill for the corporate “reformers.” He is a product of Teach For America, co-founder of New Leaders For New Schools, a darling of the DFERs and was one of Obama’s education advisers in his first campaign. Just another elitist wanting to “make a difference.”
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Sara,
Sen. Johnston has made a difference…for the worse. He has led the campaign to makes high-stakes testing the goal of education, confusing a measure with the outcome. And he has demoralized teachers across the state.
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Diane,
I Could not agree with you more. Johnston has been horrible to public education in Colorado. He has almost made it a crime to be an “experienced” teacher and he does not support tenure. Johnston and his friend US Senator Michael Bennett get a lot of support from Democrats For Education Reform.
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Every article you read that says something about Bennett honors him because he is an educator in the senate. He is not an educator and said himself in various meetings at DPS that he knows nothing about education. I saw that the Denver’s Teachers Union is holding a informational meeting at North High School next week about Denver loosing 300,000 million dollars to Wall Street. They are saying lets get it back. I don’t know if the includes the money that Denver owes to a bad investment on Bennett’s part, but it would be interesting to hear.
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Bachelor’s degree in philosophy. Masters in public policy, Became a principal with no K-12 teaching experience. Democrat, Obama advisor.
Who needs enemies, if your friends betray you?
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Patricia,
Don’t forget his time in TFA.
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Rhetoric of Great Schools, Great Teachers is echoed in Obama Rtt press and was the approximate title for a proposed modification of NCLB that failed to go anywhere.
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Laura,
Some day the reformers will be held accountable for all their pie-in-the-sky promises.
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Wow, pretty shocked they would wait all the way until K to hold students and teachers accountable. I think even Pre-K is much too late. When will we make the necessary investments in pre-natal testing????
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“Womb to Tomb Testing”
Pearson Testing to the tomb
Should be standard, from the womb
Give the fetus number 2’s
And an iPhone they can use
Just in case they need to call
A testing proctor down the hall
Give the corpse a new iPad
Let them use the latest fad
To consummate their final bubbles
As their body rots and doubles
If they pass, award degree
Pass or fail, collect a fee
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Poet~
don’t forget to blame the teacher, of the person and university, taking the final tomb exam, from 70+years ago, if the cut score indicates failure…which OF COURSE it will.
Teaching licenses will be yanked posthumously, shaming the family publicly. Reformers will jump for joy no matter in which decade the teacher bashing & destruction of careers occurs.
Sick!
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The time to invest is NOW!
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Update: As of mid-day Wednesday SB 215 is off the calendar! (per Cherry Creek News)
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Expecting kids to read in kindergarten is a huge mistake. Some of the kids will start reading on their own, but many are not developmentally ready for reading. Pushing it on them too soon just builds frustration, low self-image and a dislike for school.
It is like trying to get a baby to walk before he or she is ready to. Most European countries understand this and allow children to wait until they are developmentally ready. Why has America forgotten the research that confirms this?
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I know many parents who would be very unhappy if their child wasn’t taught to read in K.
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Strange how expectations have changed.
Isn’t kindergarten for 4 and 5 year- olds nowadays?
Children usually don’t start reading before the age of 5 or 6, and for good reason. Researchers believe that until that age, most children have not yet formed certain neural connections that allow them to decode printed letters and then mentally combine them to make words.
http://www.babycenter.com/404_when-and-how-can-i-teach-my-todd
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Yes, because they buy into the being “left behind” propaganda. Most parents are unaware of the bushels of research which show that early reading advantages wash out by third grade.
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Concerned Mom,
If parents read to their children every night at bedtime, they will learn to read. No need to worry.
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What’s making me unhappy lately is my son’s school’s insistence that he be able to “write” in second grade. Not “write” as in be able to write words or even sentences, but to compose stupid paragraphs about who cares what.
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In my state a child has to be 5 by 08/31 to attend K.
I would be happy if my child could play all day in K, but there is a vocal group of parents I know expect their child to read in K. They also believe that the reason why everyone seems to be on the same level at grade 3 is because schools plan it that way and don’t challenge the children who were ahead in K-1.
I do think Dienne is correct and parents are worried.
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We don need no stinkin’ research! ‘Merica gets it’s knowledge from talk radio, like everybody should.
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Too bad children at that age are toilet trained.
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Dienne, I concur.
Average age for learning to read INDEPENDENTLY is 6.5 years, age range is from about 4 to 7, with late readers not usually at a disadvantage. Preschool with fully qualified teachers is a strong predictor of reading with some fluency by grade 3. That is one reason why preschool is a hot topic. Another is the belief that minor problems with behavior can be treated reducing the need for special education–but preschool is also gaining favor as a way to cut costs for special education.
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It also appears that CC is a way to eliminate special education. No more modified standardized test- everyone has to meet the standards at the same time ? Where does special education fit into this?
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Diane is spot-on about reading to kids every day. Bedtime is the perfect time. I always felt a little like a lazy parent because I read to my kids, they fell asleep, and I never had any problems getting them to bed! Bonus: they all three grew up to be successful students and young adults, even the dyslexic one.
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Kris,
I read to my children at bedtime every night. First, I read them books for little children. Then, when I thought they could follow, I read my favorite poetry. Both became avid readers.
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My children are in their 20’s and 30’s now. Memories of reading to them are some of my favorite.
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