Donald Trump’s selection of Betsy DeVos to be Secretary of Education set off a seismic reaction among parents, educators, and other concerned citizens across the nation. Never, in recent memory, has a Cabinet selection inspired so much opposition. The phone lines of Senators were jammed. People who never gave much thought to what happens in Washington suddenly got angry. Snippets of her Senate confirmation hearings appeared again and again on newscasts. It was widely known that she was a billionaire who has spent most of her adult life fighting public education and advocating for privatization via charter schools and vouchers for religious schools.
She is Secretary and has pledged that her hope is to open more charters, funnel more money to cybercharters, encourage more homeschooling, and encourage state programs for vouchers, much like the Florida tax-credit program that has funneled $1 billion to organizations that pay for students to attend mostly religious schools.
There have been many state referenda on vouchers. The public has rejected every one of them, including the one funded by Betsy DeVos in Michigan in 2000 and by Jeb Bush in Florida in 2012.
Citizens must work together to block every federal or state effort to defund public schools.
There are two ways to stop DeVos.
One, join local and state organizations that are fighting privatization. Contact and join the Network for Public Education to get the names of organizations in your state.
Two, opt out of federally mandated tests. That sends a loud and clear message that you will not allow your child to participate in federal efforts to micromanage your school. Whatever you want to know about your state’s test scores can be learned by reviewing its scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. For example, we know that Michigan students have declined significantly on tests of reading and math–especially in fourth grade–since the DeVos family decided to control education policy in their home state.
The state tests are a sham. Students learn nothing from them, since they are not allowed to discuss the questions or answers. They never learn which questions they got wrong. Teachers learn nothing from them. The scores come back too late to inform instruction, and the contents are shrouded in secrecy. The tests are a waste of valuable instructional time and scarce resources. They teach conformity. They do not recognize or reward creativity or wit. They reward testing corporations.
Say no to DeVos by opting out. Send a message to Congress that its mandate for annual testing is wrong. Revolt against it. Teach your children the value of civil disobedience and critical thinking. Defend authentic education. Resist! Opt out.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I am all for sending Betsy packing. The unfortunate thing is schools are being held hostage by the tests. I work in an inner city school in upstate New York that became a priority school last year because of test scores. We had several students opt out because some teachers encouraged it. This year we were told if schools in New York had fewer than 95% of students taking the tests, their scores would automatically be reported as a 1 for the school. For schools like mine that are already under pressure from the state to improve or end up in receivership or worse, what will happen when students opt out? For schools with active parents in wealthier districts, will they suddenly all become priority schools because of large numbers of failing scores? I’m spending weeks preparing students who can’t read to take a test they won’t do well on, and I have to encourage them to make sure they show up that day no matter how much stress they will be under. For me it’s too late to leave the profession and too early to retire. I don’t want to leave the kids, but everything else the job has become makes me want to run.
Sarah,
My experience in Detroit Public Schools was similar. The low wages forced me to run because I couldn’t survive on, but the fact that the job was everything it isn’t supposed to be (teach to the test in lieu of teaching curriculum that will actually help the students, being reprimanded by administration for my grades – even though student absenteeism was high, and much, much, much more). I grew tired of fighting for what I thought the job would be: teaching. When you have to fight to actually do the job you signed up to do, it’s exhausting.
I got out and would love to return, but…I have much reservation doing so.
Sarah,
Check the website of NYSAPE. I think the state (Elia) is doing whatever it can to threaten, bribe, cajole, etc to force students to take the tests. NYSAPE has the best information.
Betty Devos go ahead! all the critics are wellcome God is the one big unloved.
“The scores come back too late to inform instruction, and the contents are shrouded in secrecy.”
Absolutely! Not only this, but the high school I taught mathematics at took this five steps further. Not only did we test students like 12 times in a given year (multiple NWEA MAP tests, quarterly “interim assessments” based on the ACT mathematics topics, the ACT test itself, and others), we were required to use this data to DRIVE instruction, not inform. It was horrible.
Basically, we were required to take the data/results from the quarter one tests and teach all of the standards that students didn’t “master” again during quarter two…and teach again in quarter three, and so forth. This was all done at he expense of teaching actual curriculum.
We lost so much time from the tests alone, and then a ton more time re-teaching standards that had already been taught. I at least could fake doing this process and actually teach curriculum (which proved more valuable, even for test scores, than teaching to the test). I can’t even begin to think about how the science teachers handled this. They were required to teach ACT “science standards”. Really, it was test prep and no content. It was so bad, the chemistry teacher told me students would learn probably 3 chapters of chemistry the entire year!
This excessive testing needs to stop. Teacher accountability via test scores needs to stop. We need student and parent accountability, as well as funds to properly pay teachers, staff buildings with professionals who can service students, etc., etc. We need to provide a truly authentic education (as you said in your post, Diane). #SayNoToDeVos.
Not only do the tests not measure creativity or wit, they don’t test much knowledge either. Thus, teaching to these tests contributes to the ignorance of the American citizenry.
Ponderosa, agreed. Standardized tests do not presume background knowledge.
This needs to be repeated over and over and over again. Share it widely!
“The state tests are a sham. Students learn nothing from them, since they are not allowed to discuss the questions or answers. They never learn which questions they got wrong. Teachers learn nothing from them. The scores come back too late to inform instruction, and the contents are shrouded in secrecy. The tests are a waste of valuable instructional time and scarce resources. They teach conformity. They do not recognize or reward creativity or wit. They reward testing corporations.”
I second Former Teacher’s comments regarding the damage interim assessments are doing to the educational process. Opt Out can no longer simply be focused on end of year testing. It MUST expand to address student data-mining that takes place throughout the school year via interim assessments as well as use of adaptive learning management systems that “learn” our children. These programs disempower both students AND teachers, putting the educational process in the hands of AI algorithms.
Resist data collection at all levels, including (especially) surveys and games that gather non-academic, social-emotional competencies. End of year opt out is a valuable access point for parents, but it is up to teachers and long-term activists to begin to expand the conversation. The time to do this is now! The Learning Accelerator and Education elements just released an updated communications plan with step-by-step instructions on how to sell “personalized” (digital) learning to community members.
We must not waste this opportunity to begin introducing the dangers of blended learning into the opt out conversation.
New York Blogger Bianca Tanis has also raised some caution flags – we have to be careful even more invasive and toxic “measures of student growth” aren’t enshrined into law or policy.
She writes:
“Despite the fact that New York State law continues to support the misuse of assessment data, there has been a recent push by some education leaders for New York to adopt the use of “innovative assessments” in our accountability system. In fact, in recent weeks NYSUT leaders have been speaking with local presidents and citing the portfolio assessments used by New York City’s Consortium Schools as an example of how these types of assessments can be successfully implemented. What they fail to point out is the fact NYC Consortium Schools are subject to an accountability waiver. Once subjected to the requirements of New York State law and federal accountability mandates, the assessments used by the Consortium Schools would be unrecognizable.”
“In order to adopt these innovative assessments, New York will likely have to apply for the Innovative Assessment Pilot allowed under the Every Student Success Act (ESSA)…”
“ESSA states that under the Pilot, the innovative assessment must “generate results that are valid, reliable and comparable for all students and each subgroup as compared to the results for statewide assessments given to other students.” In other words, ESSA requires comparability for accountability”
It’s all in the details.