Laura Chapman explains the political force that fights to keep high-stakes standardized testing in place. It is puzzling that so many civil rights groups have demanded the retention of high-stakes standardized tests, because it is the children they represent who are labeled, ranked, and rated by tests that are normed on a bell curve and that invariably favor the most advantaged students. If ever there was a socially constructed instrument that does not advance equity or civil rights, it is the standardized test. I wrote about the history of standardized testing in my book Left Back. It is a story in which certain racial and ethnic groups were labeled as “inferior” based on IQ tests; those tests were the direct forerunner of today’s SAT. In fact, the first SAT was created by one of the pioneers of IQ testing, Carl C. Brigham, who was notorious for writing a book about racial differences that were revealed by IQ testing. The most constant correlation found with all standardized tests is between scores and family income: the higher the family income, the higher the test scores are likely to be.
Chapman writes:
This is one reason why the testing absurdities continue and who is supporting them.
Well before ESSA was passed, civil rights groups demanded the continuation of NCLB testing requirement. Several letters, with a changing number of signatories, were sent to Congress advocating the retention of NCLB tests.
Here are excerpts from the most recent The Advocacy Letter, dated after the passage of ESSA (01/21/16). It comes from The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. It is addressed to the U.S. Department of Education
“ In direct response to the request for information regarding regulations to implement programs under Title I of ESSA, as discussed in more detail below, we encourage the Department to propose regulations regarding (the topics of) accountability, assessment, supplement not supplant, educator equity, data reporting, and inter-district resource equity.”
“State Accountability Systems
…in order for disaggregated data to be meaningful, “n-sizes” must be kept low so as not to hide student performance, as had been a practice in the past. It will be important to ensure that regulations reinforce the statutory requirements of identification and intervention in schools in each of the three categories identified in the law—the bottom 5 percent, schools with grad rates below 67 percent and schools with consistently low performing groups of students….
Assessments
Regulations to implement the assessment provisions of the law should ensure that the 95 percent participation requirement is enforced so that the performance of all students is taken into account. It must be affirmed that the 1 percent cap on the alternate assessment applies to student participation in the assessment by subject….( and that) in order for disaggregated data to be meaningful, “n-sizes” must be kept low so as not to hide student performance, as had been a practice in the past.” ….”it will be imperative to ensure that assessments meet the highest standards of validity, reliability and comparability and that students with disabilities and English learners are fully included in the assessments with appropriate accommodations. These assessments should not be an excuse to provide vulnerable students with lower quality assessments or obscure disparities in student outcomes.” (last sentence was in bold face type).
This letter was signed by The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (a group with over 200 members) with slightly more than 30 explicitly signing on.
Here is the list. Alliance for Excellent Education, American Association of University Women (AAUW), American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) ,Association of University Centers on Disabilities, Children’s Defense Fund, Council of Parent , Attorneys and Advocates, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, Easter Seals, Education Law Center – PA, The Education Trust, Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, League of United Latin American Citizens, MALDEF, NAACP, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities, National Center for Learning Disabilities, The National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools, National Council of La Raza ,National Disability Rights Network, National Down Syndrome Congress, National Indian Education Association, National Urban League, National Women’s Law Center, New Leaders, Partners for Each and Every Child, PolicyLink, Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, Stand for Children, TASH, Teach For America, Teach Plus, TNTP, UNCF, United Way Worldwide.
It is no small irony that the list includes many charter school supporters and that many charters schools work hard to exclude who have disabilities. It also well known that the Gates and other foundations provide operating and “advocacy” support for some of the groups so they will advance the policy preferences of Billionaires.
I think the corporate public school demolition derby has either infiltrated the leadership of Civil Rights groups and/or launched their own civil rights groups, in name only. After all, they are doing this in every sector from the public sector, the private sector and the non-profit sector and they, I’m thinking of Bill Gates as I write this, mask the bribes by calling them “grants”.
I have been blacklisted by this blog not because my view on the testing, I am against it, but because I believe unless we have a viable alternative to the testing fiasco, we will perish. We see Donald Trump complaining with no solutions. Why are we doing the same?
There is no reasonable argument for the test but there is a reasonable argument , made by civil rights groups , to assure all kids are learning. There is a reasonable argument to assure parents their tight to see their children progress.
The artificial test is not the answer. It is important to listen to those who have actually been in the classroom. Because those who have walked the walk, in the trenches, know what they are talking about.
If we continue to complain without giving innovative solutions. We will be seen as whiners. If we continue to opt out without something concrete to opt in to, we will be seen as whiners. If we continue to build walls without building bridges, we will perish.
This post will never be passed on because I have been blacklisted on this blog. However, I know that public school teachers are the best innovators in the world. Instead of joining the chorus of those who ONLY complain, join the chorus with your great ideas for systemic change.
6 years ago I said on my website “Unless we have a viable alternative to the testing fiasco, public schools will perish.”. And the proof is in the pudding!
caplee, who blacklisted you?
For close to a year none of my comments were forwarded. This was after many were
On several occasions those who were against my thoughts were passed on with only snipets of what I said but not full context. However my total thoughts were not shown
Caplee, your comments have never been blacklisted or edited on this blog
OK. I am still waiting to see my comments you referred to in my mailbox
Cap,
I often hear from readers that their comments never appeared. When that happens, sign off and sign in again.
“There is no reasonable argument for the test but there is a reasonable argument , made by civil rights groups , to assure all kids are learning. There is a reasonable argument to assure parents their tight to see their children progress.”
There are many ways to forward and document learning without the heavy hand of the federal government and the costs of standardized tests, and the stress on students and teachers. Standardized tests offer a simplistic and skewed view of student learning, a snapshot, and only a score designed from the get-go to ensure that about half of students are below average… because the tests are norm-referenced…bell curve decides.
This not educationally sound and reasonable accountability, and the worst part, as Diane and others show, is that the big losers in the testing regime are the kids and parents whom these civil rights groups are supposed to be defending and supporting. They are on the wrong side of informed and reasoned arguments… (if those matter).
Agreed, that’s why I wrote this. http://savingstudents-caplee.blogspot.com/2013/12/accountability-with-honor-and-yes-we.html No more test!
Caplee68,
I’ve had a number of posts not show up over the years. The technology is not as “perfect” as we would like. The thing is I’ve posted so many that I end up forgetting which ones got lost in the ether. Don’t take it personally, just keep on posting.
Duane
Thanks Duane
There is a very high correlation between organizations saying “high stakes tests = civil rights” and those receiving large amounts of money from Gates.
Yes; this may be the most dangerous smoke produced by those who offer up an endless “outsider” financing to advertise the need for implementing yet more invasive school reforms — that all of this deregulated school “fixing” is being done as the means to address “the Civil Rights issue of our times.”
It could be the money but I am convinced that civil rights groups simply haven’t been given an alternative. Sorry but my thoughts can’t be given in a few words but if you want my talking points, read this. http://savingstudents-caplee.blogspot.com/2013/12/accountability-with-honor-and-yes-we.html Thanks
Connecticut is telling superintendents to turn other students into “Ambassadors” to help promote the testing. The commissioner is telling superintendents that this is necessary.
Superintendents who have lapsed and let parents do what they feel is best for their children are being reprimanded by the State Department of Education, and parents are being ignored and shutdown. CT is the next NEW YORK, except worse.
Schools are lying to kids, making them taking the SAT as a practice test (as if the PSAT doesn’t exist) , telling them it could help them get into Yale, telling them how great it is. A full session for Superintendents to get them to learn how to coerce parents, how to use children as ambassadors to encourage other children, how to “smile and wave” at parents to act as if there is transparency. They even have a Superintendent page:
February 29 Improving Participation Rates on State Assessments Roundtable Materials
Improving Participation Rates on State Assessments [PDF]
Communication Maxims for Principals and Superintendents
[PDF]
The Importance of Communication [PDF]
Sample Communication Calendar [PDF]
http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2663&q=335470
And it is all for the PROMISE of equity?
“Assessments are important tools that help us deliver on our promise to our kids and ensure that we are holding all of our students to high standards.” http://portal.ct.gov/Departments_and_Agencies/Office_of_the_Governor/Press_Room/Press_Releases/2016/02-2016/Gov__Malloy_and_Education_Commissioner_Wentzell_Announce_New_Step_to_Reduce_State_Testing/
Assessment is critical, however, the test is the poorest form of “assessment” its an issue nsult to call it an assessment. It is an artificial test. End of story! Real teachers know quality assessment. Whole Child assessment
I was at a conference yesterday for parents of children with disabilities, and heard yet again (this time from the keynote speaker) how wonderful high-stakes testing has been for our kids. The story I’ve heard over and over is that in bad old days the schools let them watch movies all day and now the schools are actually teaching them.
The larger picture is never seen. The idea that there might have been carrots to use, rather than the stick of testing, in order to improve our kids’ education is beyond anyone’s imagination. That the tests are part of a larger effort to make the dismantling of as much as possible of the public schools (on which our kids depend) is not on anyone’s radar.
I despair of the disability community ever getting this issue right.
Those letters from The Leadership Conference were the reason I started blogging last year. Those signees represent over $1 billion in Gates, Broad, and Walton money. This was my letter of protest to them (still no answer). https://elfasd.blogspot.com/2015/05/jumping-into-fray.html
Diane and Laura, if income has the highest correlation with test scores (more than aptitude/IQ), please explain how, on your precious NAEP, Asian kids whose parents have no high school diploma and are FRL score higher than other minorities who are either non-FRL or whose parents graduated from high school or some college?
Or maybe Laura could explain this chart which completely debunks your whole argument?
Btw, caplee68, it’s likely that you don’t receive emails for your own posts (that’s standard). I would say there is a minimum IQ of 60 to post on this blog. Your comments demonstrate you don’t make the cut. Expect to see your posts blocked in 3, 2, 1….
Virginia, read Yong Zhao’s latest book for the answer to your question. We have chosen to make a big deal out of test scores. The measure is flawed. If tests didn’t exist, we would still be a productive society. Happier too.
There has been some concern that not all students are tested in other countries. Having said that, the money issue is about the way poverty is dealt with in this country.
“Asian kids whose parents have no high school diploma and are FRL score higher than other minorities who are either non-FRL or whose parents graduated from high school or some college?”
Virginiasgp, most Asians value education more than most other ethnic and/or racial groups. They are obsessive about it. They come from a culture that has valued education for thousands of years—even among most of the poor. For instance, my wife grew up in China under Mao and the Cultural Revolution stopped her education in middle school, yet she made sure that our daughter had the opportunity that her mother never had in China—to go to college in the United States where daughter was born, and her mother started saving before the child’s birth. Even her grandparents donated money toward their granddaughter’s college.
For instance, how many American white parents do that, who even have their own college degrees?
Anyone who challenges my next statement will lose if they do their homework like I did to verify all the claims.
In the US, Asian-Americans have the highest high school graduation rate even higher than whites, the highest ratio that goes to college and finishes, the lowest ratio of STDs, the highest rate of marriages, that often don’t end in divorce, the lowest teen pregnancy rate, the lowest unemployment rate, etc.
When it comes to Asians, the importance of an eeucation is cultural and other racial groups, even whites, can’t be judged or compared to them. I have witnessed more than once a room full of Chinese mothers talking about their children and the only topic is education and the best college to attend and how to get in. What do most white mothers talk about when they get together—clothing, make up, gossip that has nothign to do with the education of their children.
I suggest you educate yourself about what sets Asians apart and it isn’t because they are smarter—by first reading this piece:
https://blog.personalcapital.com/financial-planning-2/asian-americans-view-asians-save-earn-much/
For instance, Stanford is a private university, often ranked in the top 5 for the world, and to get in the competition is fierce. The few that are accepted from the many who apply made it through hard work based on merit.
For Fall of 2015, there were 42,497 applicants who had just graduated from high school. Only 5% were admitted as university freshman.
4% of the U.S. population is Asian but almost 23% of Stanford’s student population is Asian. The reason is due to the value Asian culture puts on education.
GENERATIONAL poverty.
First generation/immigrant poverty is very different,
The overriding factor in school success is family culture. Generational poverty has a debilitating effect on the culture of families mired in a cycle of dependence. Racism comes in a close second.
RageAgainstTheTestocracy, did you even look at the chart from the SAT results? Certain students from households earning less than $20K/yr outperformed other groups whose household earned $200K/yr!!!!
Are you suggesting that the $20K/yr just became poor in the last generation? Most poor people in this country are white, btw. Are you suggesting that the $200K household just entered the middle/upper class during the last generation? What possible evidence do you have for this conjecture? Oh yes, you don’t really think your assumptions need to be validated or proven with data, right?
Lloyd, I agree that Asian Americans value education more than other cultures in general. I also assert that the Asians in the US are not representative of the average Asian worldwide, at least from the East Asian countries (Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea). Only those who are smart enough to attend college in the US generally have the opportunity to immigrate. Thus, their best are being compared to the average US student or even the least capable from certain other immigrant backgrounds.
Btw, I use Asians because it is less controversial than whites. It’s hard to claim that Asians are immune from discrimination (your own link includes an example of racism against Asians) so that eliminates one irrelevant excuse off the bat. But the point is that outcomes are often related to aptitude. Diane likes to pretend that test scores depend on income, but everyone knowledgeable on this issue knows its primarily related to aptitude (which often drives income). I am merely pointing out that Diane knows income is secondary and asking that she acknowledge as much with these charts.
Diane, yes, the US was successful before test scores. And it was much harder for talented individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds to achieve success. Before test scores existed, admission to the most elite schools was much more dependent on one’s background and connections. It is because of test scores that poor kids from rural farms or the inner city now regularly get admitted to Harvard, Stanford, UMichigan, Berkeley, etc. Tests make society more fair.
And it is because of test scores, or rather the change in test scores among similar students, that we know which policies/schools/educators are most effective. The test scores are not the goal in and of themselves. They merely help us to determine which methods are most effective. That’s how science works. You conduct an experiment and analyze the results. Btw, we only require testing in math/ELA in grades 3-8 and once in high school. That leaves plenty of room for all sorts of instructional delivery in other subjects (science/history) and in the higher level courses (labs and writing courses in high school) without ever having to be assessed. I fail to see how seven end-of-year tests in two core courses is destroying our ability to instill creativity, entrepreneurial spirit, GRIT, or any other skill that Zhao advocates. Rather, those who oppose accountability refuse to allow any annual testing that evaluates which districts, schools and educators are effective.
Virginia said, “Diane likes to pretend that test scores depend on income, but everyone knowledgeable on this issue knows its primarily related to aptitude (which often drives income).”
You claim that aptitude, a natural ability to do something, is linked to test scores.
WRONG.
Children who live in poverty, who also come from dysfunction homes, often never have the opportunity to develop their natural ability to do something like score higher on high stakes tests.
For instance:
Here’s The Startling Degree to Which Your Parents Determine Your Success
Even in America, a tremendous amount of your life success is determined by your parents.
Often referred to as the “birth lottery,” this concept is nothing new. The basic idea is that some people are born to families that are better off, better educated, and better situated. That matters a lot and puts them at a natural advantage.
A new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research details just how big that advantage can be. According to the authors, your parents’ income, marriage, and locational choices all have a huge impact on your future.
http://www.businessinsider.com/parents-determine-child-success-income-inequality-2014-1
Wealthy Kids 8 Times More Likely to Graduate College than Poor
A new study from the Pell Institute shows that family income not only has a huge correlation with the chance that a kid gets into college, but of that person’s likelihood of actually graduating. (Hat tip to CNN Money.)
http://www.forbes.com/sites/eriksherman/2015/02/05/wealthy-college-kids-8-times-more-likely-to-graduate-than-poor/#d6147ab5727d
Yes, Asians and specifically the Chinese have been discriminated against in the U.S. at levels equal to or surpassing the discrimination and bias directed at Blacks and Latinos, but Asians are influenced by a different culture. Instead of making waves and protesting like Blacks and Latinos do, due to the Asian influence of of Taoism and Confucius, Asians work harder in school, work harder as parents, work harder in their marriages and work harder at their jobs but guess how Asians tend to vote. Their behavior makes them seem very conservative but …
You can find the answer to how they vote here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2014/03/19/why-do-asian-americans-mostly-vote-for-democrats/
Children develop at different rates and in different ways. They don’t get their teeth at the same time, they don’t start walking at the same time, they don’t start talking at the same time, they don’t start reading at the same time. Yet in 1st grade they must be at the same time in the same place.
Add to that childhood stress slows the brain according to Paul Tough as do a whole variety of conditions predominantly found in poor urban areas.
Is it possible for kids from these areas to learn at the same rate? Of course it is if they have a strong enough support system. But that is very difficult for most.
others haven’t received them either
Others don’t receive mine either but that’s ok. I see you are a Trump supporter by your response
Civil rights groups want the truth through testing. Sounds good. Then what, then where?
Problem is that testing doesn’t reveal the truth. It may allow you to better argue
disparate impact, but little more. Opportunity costs in instructional time, taxpayers
money and political goodwill all wasted for fool’s errand.
The “truth through testing” is arrived after a long tortuous trip on a twisted logic and language path that arrives miraculously at its own starting point of non-truth and a hope for the truth.
There is no truth in testing
Bingo!
I have been in a constant state of stun as to why minority school advocates support this testing mania … and other major components of this reform thrust.
Of all the features of the early reform argument, nothing was more warped than the assertion that every school … successful or not … be crammed into the identical reform tent.
By declaring this a coast-to-coast reform, it excused reform designers from making politically incorrect observations … and then excused them from solving real problems for millions of our most needy students.
Were this reform real, it would have left succeeding schools alone … and then redirected the monies and energies to the schools that truly needed the attention.
Those schools are predominantly schools of color. Every investigation informs us that the majority of our distressed schools have brown and black students. BUT to point that out … in the earl phases of this reform … would have been too, too touchy … too politically uneasy. So they flinched … and shorted the very group of children who deserved the very best assistance.
They were racial cowards for not rushing to the side of every minority student stuck in distressed schools across the nation. All of the billions of dollars spent on this mostly warped reform could have been directly delivered to classrooms across America that were most in need .. and where those dollars would’ve made the most impact.
Sadly, these reformers wimped out. And now these children are being further skewered by black leaders who think theses tests are going to change the educational landscape.
They’re not. At all. Never.
Denis Ian
It’s simple, they support the testing because we don’t give them a viable alternative. Wait a minute, here’s one now. 😀 http://savingstudents-caplee.blogspot.com. http://savingstudents-caplee.blogspot.com/2013/12/accountability-with-honor-and-yes-we.html
But denisian, how do you know which schools are “distressed”? For example, the SGP data I received showed that many schools and some districts with low overall achievement scores achieved high growth. Thus, those schools were not “distressed” but were, in fact, miracle workers.
Meanwhile, the former district of my current superintendent (York County – the home of William and Mary University) had among the lowest growth scores in the state. In other words, the district had affluent schools and advantaged students, but there were not learning as much as their peers throughout the state. Do those schools qualify as “distressed” if the kids aren’t learning much at school?
Where should the money go?
While poverty and money are certainly important issues, I suspect that a key factor in the “success” of schools (as measured by testing, which is questionable at best) is the school culture–whether or not the students feel that they are “known” and seen as individuals rather than widgets expected to achieve some externally determined “standard.” Unfortunately, the relationships between and among adults and learners can’t be measured on a standardized bubble test, so they are typically ignored–even though they may be one of the most important factors in student learning.
Judith Lloyd Yero, why would the strength of those relationships/unified vision not show up on the principal’s VAM score? Data shows that principals have the second largest effect on student outcomes, behind only teachers. Their managerial skill is measured by those very scores.
Virginia, if you look at the stats, teachers and principals have a small effect on test scores as compared to home and family.
Diane–I certainly agree that family relationships are the most important. However, when the effort is made to create a “healthy family” relationship in the school setting, remarkable things happen. Many will say that’s impossible, but I have seen it in any number of schools around the country. Unfortunately, most of them are private or independent schools whose founders believe that developing the potential of each individual is the purpose of schools rather than developing worker bees for the economy.
Many of these schools charge LESS tuition than the per pupil expenditures in their states. While they don’t have to give standardized tests, they often do it “for fun.” And typically, the students score several grade levels about their public school counterparts. These schools demonstrate that learner-centered education, in which students are given significant choices in what, when, and how they learn, AND where they feel known and respected, works. Yet public education continues to double down on failed policies that are the antithesis of “what works.”
I wholeheartedly agree with the last three paragraphs of your book “The Death and Life of the Great American School System.” But what will it take to transform public education into that vision?
Anyone with the IQ of an aardvark would realize the someone who has trouble sitting through a 45 minute class also has trouble doing hours of testing. Childhood stress literally slows the brain according to Paul Tough. And there is a hell of a lot more stress in dangerous urban areas than in the suburbs.
Ask a soldier who has been on a mission in Iraq, losing several of his or her buddies if they were ready to suit down and take a test when they got back to base.
I understand those of privilege think it might be simply aptitude that drives test scores. But once entering the real world, it is easy to understand there are many pieces to the education puzzle.
I am not interested in a number or score. As far as I’m concerned, a VAM score is in a similar category to scores on standardized tests. The quality of a relationship is not something that I believe can be “measured” and reduced to a number. It is, however, apparent if one is willing to accept the value of qualitative assessment. When one walks into an effective learner-centered school, a caring, nurturing, supportive culture is obvious in the looks on people’s faces, the way they talk to one another, and the engagement of learners. Why must we put a number on that? Have we so little trust in our own judgments?
virginiasgp
Not quite sure we’re speaking of the same thing here. I agree with this statement of yours … ” …howed that many schools and some districts with low overall achievement scores achieved high growth. Thus, those schools were not “distressed” but were, in fact, miracle workers.”
All of us have seen such wonderful “growth” performances … and marveled.
I was speaking in very general terms about the reform movement … and especially of the monetary resources spent on it … and how so much of it is misspent and could have been better directed to schools/district that … as you point out … need miracle growth because they are currently well below the performance norms.
This reform never made that distinct … as you did … about already succeeding schools and those in need of … to borrow your word … a miracle.
That was my point. I don’t think we are at odds at all.
You can show growth today and use the data to counter the insane standardized robotic nonsense. Here’s how http://savingstudents-caplee.blogspot.com/2013/12/accountability-with-honor-and-yes-we.html TAKE ACTION NOW OR PERISH!
I spent more than 30 years in an urban school system serving the kids who need us the most. With this plan we can show growth and take it to your board, or the feds. Stop the insanity.
(For some reason my responses don’t get e mailed forward. Please respond so this thought can piggy back yours)
Caplee68 proves why so many teachers can’t pass the Florida FELE test. Caplee provides a post that describes how teachers can ascertain how much growth occurred under their tutelage while discounting past growth, or lack thereof. Despite it being explained thousands of times, that’s exactly how VAMs work, with prior growth being discounted:
“The question becomes how many students make dramatic gains toward demonstrated proficiency while under your watch and compared with how they have done in the past. Is the current teacher really responsible for the success or failure of students past performance? I think not! ”
I certainly hope these teacher tests don’t include questions on how VAMs work? I think a 25% passing rate would be a miracle if they did.
Agree Duane, the big test is totally invalid. Why? Because it comes back 4 months later. Dr Wooden, Supt Indianapolis schools had teachers do their own assessments and not wait for the big test. They needed to do their plans NOW! Why? Because the large test has kids that have trouble sitting in class for 45 minutes sitting for hours. Why? Because the test only judges 2nd class achievement, not what they can actually do. Simply stating what they are supposed to say. Notice how I use demonstrated proficiencies, what kids can do.
But then again if we continue to keep the test mentality, we keep voting for Trump. http://savingstudents-caplee.blogspot.com/2015/07/how-test-is-destroying-america.html That’s the value of the VAM
I wish there were a way to force every education “policy maker,” every politician, every educational theorist, every school administrator and teacher, and every parent to read Todd Rose’s new book The End of Average. Although we’ve had important educational theorists, including Diane, point out what’s wrong with standardized testing, Rose provides irrefutable scientific evidence to support those theories. He explains where the idea of “average” humans came from, as well as the various distortions and biased interpretations of that concept that have led to our current model of public education. There are no “standard” humans…and any system designed around the “average” person serves no one! This book is a MUST-READ for anyone interested in the future of education…and the survival of our children.
Unfortunately we can’t require leaders to do anything. My wish list is like yours. There is no average.
However, if we realize that change is a process, we will tackle it one step at a time, in the trenches like Randi Rweingarten is doing and the next thing you know, fed tests aren’t used to assess teachers and the Colloins Sanders amendment will allow s path away from the test.
Wait a minute, those things have happened. 😀
“. . . it is the children they represent who are labeled, ranked, and rated by COMPLETELY INVALID tests that are normed on a bell curve and that invariably favor the most advantaged students.”
There Laura and Diane, I fixed it for you!!