The mayor of Devers, Texas, happens to be a fifth-grade teacher. Steve Horelica knows how phony the state test (STAAR) is. He has proclaimed that it won’t be allowed in his town. Very likely, the Texas Education Agency won’t let him get away with it. But what can they do? Send in the Texas Rangers and force kids to takethe Tests?
Imagine: what If he announced that no student in Devers would take the test? What if he declared that Devers was opting out?
He would be on my list of heroes if he did.
As a teacher, he knows that the test reveals nothing that teachers don’t know already. It distorts education.
Kudos to Mayor Horelica!
“Steve Horelica is not only the mayor, he teaches 5th grade at Devers ISD, where he says he has witnessed first-hand how ineffective the STAAR test is in educating his students.
“At the end of the year, the only thing that schools and TEA looks at is ‘What was your STAAR score?'” Horelica said. “They don’t look at how much children have grown, they don’t look at ‘Okay, this kid has a learning disability, so he is at a disadvantage.’ They don’t care. They just look at one thing. Did they pass or did they fail?”
“Horelica said because the STAAR test has done very little to actually educate his students, he decided it was time to do something.
“And I just threw it out there as a joke and said, ‘Boy, I wish I could make the STAAR test go away as mayor,'” Horelica said. “And some folks chimed in and said, ‘Why don’t you do it?'”
Hint: Tests don’t educate students. Making tests harder doesn’t make students smarter.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I know this is asking a lot, given the ed reform echo chamber and the pressures that bear on public school principals and superintendents, but I think more of them should refuse ed reform schemes like this mayor is doing.
Be the experts. Be confident enough to tell ed reformers you value your schools and your students and you’re not taking their lemming-like bad advice anymore.
I think parents will love you for it.
The coerced administration of standardized “state” ELA tests should be rejected by every sentient, caring superintendent, principal, teacher, and BOE member in the country.
STOP the MADNESS.
STOP pretending that these fraudulant tests can accurately and reliably and objectively measure subjective reading and writing skills.
STOP and let the chips fall where they may.
STOP for the sake of the kids who have had their one opportunity to experience a rich and varied K to 8 curricula destroyed by the false gods of data.
and the false “godships” made of those who lead the data game: Gates, etc.
Too, the only thing that stopped the testing madness was schools refusing.
If we had left it up to the people pushing these tests, they would have continued to pile on new tests every year. There’s no real critical analysis or debate in ed reform. They promoted the tests even as it became ludicrous to anyone not inside the echo chamber.
if it hadn’t have been for the opt out parents it would have continued. Forever.
HOORAY. Let’s hope more follow his lead, because he KNOWS first-hand how awful those tests are.
Those tests are like weighing an elephant using a bathroom scale.
OH…
And those 737 MAX Jets have a SOFTWARE PROBLEM. Bet they didn’t really TEST the software … costs too much $$$$$ and now look. BONEHEADS are in charge.
And..the moron…
45 has finally acquiesced to grounding those planes. What an idiot, he is. He has NO CLUE about much of anything except … well (fill in the blanks).
As to your MAX statements, Yvonne–look at the cheating scandal post, as well, & the comments about those who got into top schools by way of parents’ $$$$$–may be those who are involved in designing those planes (creds to the reader who wrote about the bridges, nuclear power plants, etc.–sorry, forgot who wrote that).
Geniuses–?!
Whoops–meant those designing the faulty software.
& very much relieved that–finally–the FAA got those planes grounded
(even if U.S.A. the last country to do so).
Wonderful! Perhaps the new mayor of Chicago (whoever she may be!) will do this.
Especially food for thought for Toni Preckwinkle, as endorsed by the C.T.U. & a former CPS Teacher herself; if anyone should understand what teachers, kids & parents go through w/this testing/teaching to the test, she should.
(Note: I am not making an endorsement of one candidate over the other, here. Just sayin’…)
Also–NEITHER candidate should go to Paul Vallas for any “advice” (as proposed by a P.V. smitten columnist), or anything else, for that matter. He lost (not only the mayoral, but the gubernatorial & Lt. Guv races), & that’s that. Asking for his “advice” is like Chuck Todd asking Arne about the college cheating scandal (thanks, Greg B.!).
Go, Steve Horelica! And think about running for governor.
Do it, Mayor!!!!