It gets harder and harder to keep up with the news about testing, because the popular sentiment is changing against standardized testing in general and Common Core testing in particular with great rapidity. Even this list is slightly dated. As I reported earlier today, some of the Atlanta educators convicted of racketeering were given stiff prison sentences.
It is an extraordinary coincidence that the Senate revision of NCLB is occurring at the same time as the biggest test refusal in American history. The parents who are opting out are sending a message to Congress at the same time that Congress plans to renew annual testing for another seven years. Will Congress hear the message? Or will the opt out movement grow even stronger next year? And will there be more Teachers of Conscience who refuse to give the tests?
Fairtest reports in its weekly update on testing resistance and reform:
Today is huge for assessment reform with the U.S. Senate education committee starting markup of legislation to overhaul “No Child Left Behind,” tens of thousands of students planning to opt-out of the first day of standardized exams in New York State, and sentencing scheduled in the Atlanta cheating case that has focused attention on damage from the fixation on test scores.
Here’s a sampling of just one week’s news from across the nation. Please continue sending us your clips and let us know if FairTest can help your local campaigns in any way
U.S. Senate Rewrite of “No Child Left Behind” Does Not Go Far Enough
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/04/10/why-the-senates-proposed-no-child-left-behind-rewrite-doesnt-go-far-enough/
Congress Many Years Behind in Move to Overhaul NCLB
http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2015/04/13/398804901/senators-try-to-revise-no-child-left-behind-a-few-years-behind
Is It a “Civil Right” to Take Federally Mandated Tests?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/is-it-a-students-civil-right-to-take-a-federally-mandated-standardized-test/2015/04/10/7f1b731c-d3e4-11e4-a62f-ee745911a4ff_story.html
California Parents Can Choose to Opt Out of Common Core Tests
http://www.kionrightnow.com/news/local-news/some-parents-choose-to-opt-out-of-states-common-core-testing/32242858
Colorado Senate Overwhelmingly Approves Opt-Out Bill
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_27867251/colorado-testing-opt-out-bill-wins-final-senate
Colorado Moms Take Frustration About Standardized Testing to State Capital
http://kdvr.com/2015/04/09/moms-students-take-frustration-over-standardized-testing-to-capitol/
Connecticut Opt Out Policies Vary Among Districts
http://www.courant.com/education/hc-for-students-who-opt-out-of-sbac-some-allowed-to-leave-testing-area-others-not-20150407-story.html
Florida Legislature Sends Governor Bill to Scale Back Testing
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/education/os-florida-house-passes-testing-bill-post.html
Florida Congresswoman Calls on State to Ignore Results of This Year’s Tests
http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/us-rep-wilson-urges-florida-lawmakers-to-disregard-test-results/2224816
Georgia Debates “Fair’ Punishment for Atlanta Educators in Testing Scandal
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/crime-law/whats-fair-punishment-for-aps-cheaters-depends-on-/nkqsR/#6ba5566b.149964.735700
Atlanta Cheating Scandal Exposes Everything Wrong with Test-Driven Education
http://www.alternet.org/education/latest-big-city-school-testing-scandal-exposes-everything-thats-wrong-standardized
Louisiana Teachers Should Be Inspiring Students, Not Just Preparing Them for Tests
http://www.theneworleansadvocate.com/opinion/11990159-123/letter-teachers-should-be-inspiring
Maine Students Opt Out of New Standardized Test
http://www.penbaypilot.com/article/camden-hills-parents-overwhelmingly-say-no-new-assessment-test/50881
Michigan PTA Calls for Suspension of New State Assessment
http://www.theoaklandpress.com/general-news/20150409/parent-leaders-ask-state-to-put-m-step-assessments-on-hold-for-this-year
Michigan Parents Pulling Kids Out of State Tests
http://www.minbcnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=1190733#.VSxM40ZLUZw
Nebraska Presses Own Model in “No Child” Overhaul Debate
http://journalstar.com/news/local/education/finally-some-movement-on-nclb-with-nebraska-in-the-discussion/article_3aaf1141-5a12-5f87-b85b-6d0b354e8ce5.html
New Hampshire SmarterBalanced Testing Is Unethical, Invalid
http://www.fosters.com/article/20150407/NEWS/150409532/-1/ROCNEWS
New Jersey PARCC Is Part of State’s Education Problems, Not a Solution
http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/15/04/07/opinion-parcc-is-part-of-the-problem-not-part-of-the-answer-for-nj-schools/
New Mexico School Counselors Speak Out Against School Testing Overkill
http://www.taosnews.com/news/article_ece6d7a8-def0-11e4-997b-d70a26278f16.html
New Mexico Opt-Out Numbers Grow
http://www.koat.com/news/parcc-opt-out-numbers-for-aps-announced/32345118
New York Opt Out Movement Grows Rapidly
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2015/04/opt-out_movement_grows_across_state_thousands_of_students_expected_to_refuse_tes.html
Western New York District Opt-Out Rate Tops 56%
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2015/04/10/fairport-opt-cala/25575961/
New York Teacher Licensing Test on Trial for Racial Bias, Lack of Relationship to Job
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/08/nyregion/questions-of-bias-are-raised-about-a-teachers-exam-in-new-york.html?ref=education
North Carolina Test-Based School Grades Get an “F”
http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/op-ed/article18438515.html
North Dakota Legislatures Can’t Reach Agreement on Opt-Out Bill as Grassroots Movement Grows
http://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/bismarck/testing-opt-out-bill-dies-in-house/article_d74b3f4d-de9c-503c-b56c-0c02cc9fe41e.html
Ohio Governor Signs Bill Protecting Students From Negative Consequences of New PARCC Test Scores
http://www.timesreporter.com/article/20150409/OPINION/150409376/2011/OPINION
Ohio Educators Give Law Marks to Rollout of New State Tests
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/04/ohio_educators_give_bad_marks.html
Oregon Students Lead Movement Against New Tests
http://portlandtribune.com/lor/48-news/256291-126869-students-board-square-off-over-smarter-balanced-assessment-tests
Oregon Opt-Out Gains Steam, Especially in Portland
http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2015/04/portland_common_core_testing_o.html
Pennsylvania Suburbs See Twenty-Fold Increase in Opt-Out Requests
http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/homepage-feature/item/80602-main-line-district-sits-for-pssas-with-20x-increase-in-opt-outs
Pennsylvania Should Not Waste Time With Keystone Exams
http://www.delcotimes.com/opinion/20150408/letter-to-the-editor-dont-waste-time-with-the-keystone-exam
Tennessee Dueling Test Standards Put Squeeze on Teachers and Students
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/04/09/dueling-tests-standards-put-squeeze-on-tennessee.html
Texas Concedes New Math Test Scores Will Not Count in School, District Ratings
http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local-education/math-staar-tests-for-grades-3-8-wont-count-in-camp/nkp2j/
Texas Lawmaker Takes Aim at STAAR Testing
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/neighborhood/katy/schools/article/Fort-Bend-lawmaker-takes-aim-at-STAAR-testing-6184831.php
Washington State NAACP Joins Critics of New Tests
http://kuow.org/post/naacp-joins-fight-against-new-standardized-test
Washington High School Students Boycotting Smarter Balanced Test
http://www.thestranger.com/blogs/slog/2015/04/10/22029704/why-roughly-220-garfield-high-school-students-are-boycotting-a-standardized-test-in-their-own-words
Congratulations, Pearson Offered Me a Test-Scoring Position
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/04/14/congratulations-to-me-i-have-been-offered-a-position-as-a-professional-scorer-by-pearson/
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 
A quote about Yong Zhao’s book from the Oregon aricle,
“Spoiler alert: High-stakes standardized tests serve to support authoritarian regimes like China’s and not democracies.”
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Here are some opt out rates from around NYS:
(The numbers here cannot be 100% confirmed)
LONG ISLAND
Port Jefferson- 50%
Rocky Point- 50%+
North Babylon- 41%
Mount Sinai- likely in the 40% range
Longwood- likely in the 40% range
Patchogue-Medford- 60%+
Comsewogue- 82%
Sachem 65%
Babylon 59%
Shoreham-Wading River 75%
Hauppauge 64%
Deer Park 36%
Bellmore-Merrick 62%
Amityville 36%
Rocky Point 70+%
Bayport/Bluepoint 58%
Cold Spring Harbor 22%
Connetquot 69%
Fire Island 31%
Islip 65%
Undenhurst 56%
Mount Sinai 50%
North Babylon 54%
Pat-Med 65%
Rockville Center 60%
UPSTATE (Capital Region)
Ballston Spa: 380 students (20 percent )
Bethlehem: 180 students, elementary schools only, (18 percent)
Guilderland: 391 (18 percent)
Mohonasen: 671 students (53 percent)
Niskayuna: 205 students (11 percent)
Schenectady: 106 students (2 percent)
Shenendehowa: 861 students (18 percent)
Ichabod Crane 55+%
Mahopac 50%
WESTERN
West Seneca 70%
Lake Shore 50+%
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What a wonderful mess the “the powers that be…en bought off” will have on their hands with this fiasco!
Hope there is double the amount of not only opt outs but also #bubbleA and outright student refusals.
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And last year, the opt outs increased significantly when the math test was administered. This year, that will be next week (4/22, 23, 24).
There are no words to describe just what a unfixable mess Captain Education (Cuomo) has created. And he owns it, 100%. He will no doubt try to throw the Board of Regents NYSED, the state legislature, and parents under the bus. (Us teachers were run over long ago). But make no mistake, this is ANDREW CUOMO’S MESS. He broke it and now he has to pay for it.
How did I test thee? Let me count the waste:
Billions of taxpayer dollars
Billions of teacher/administrator hours
Hundreds of millions of lost opportunities for 1.2 million students
Good going Captain Education!
A wild bull in the china shop that was once our cherished public school system.
His poll numbers are in the toilet on this issue but he won’t let go.
A vindictive, angry, nasty, little man.
He will treat the missing test scores like
Captain Queeg treated the missing strawberries.
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NY Teacher:
I plugged those numbers into a spreadsheet of enrollment by district that I got off of the NYSED website and the opt outs from just those districts total just over 30,000.
Howard
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Tip of the iceberg. The only thing preventing this from being a true bloodbath is the UFT/NYC situation.
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I have mixed feelings for the Atlanta teachers who were jailed. It seems to me they were being hung from the yardarm and scapegoated for rampant cheating that permeates school systems throughout the nation.
Look at the cheating that went on in Washington D.C. under Michelle Rhee. Look at the cheating in NYC under Klein and Bloomberg. With high stakes testing (and teachers’ jobs dependent on test scores) cheating is a way of life in the education profession.
In years of working in the NYC school system I have seen numerous teachers erase answers and falsify test scores. The only way to eradicate cheating is to eliminate the out of control high stakes testing.
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http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/education/school-zone/os-scott-testing-bill-schools-post.html
Governor Scott signed the bill into law today that scales back testing somewhat here in FL. A bit ironic considering what is happening in NY; testing now counts for only 33% of our VAM score after being 50% for the last 3 years in FL, one of the earliest adopters of the VAM scam.
They did away with the ridiculous requirement for end of year tests in all subject areas which we primary teachers applaud.
Not enough but a start and that fact that it has happened here in JEB! Bush territory is amazing to me. We’ve been under his anti-public school, anti-teacher thumb for years and years.
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Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Texas Education.
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