Our policy makers are in love with standardized tests. They
can’t talk about education without talking test scores. If I could
wave a magic wand, I would have every politician, every pundit, and
every state commissioner take the 8th grade math test and publish
their scores. Or take the PARCC test for 8th grade. If they did,
the results would be interesting and there might be less
complaining about our kids, our teachers, and our schools. Peter
Greene explains
here why standardized tests are meaningless. I think they
may be useful for diagnosing problems and helping kids. I think
they are useful for trends. But their limitations and gym flaws are
too great to use them to rank and rate children or determine their
life chances.
Archives for category: Standardized Testing
John Ogozalek teaches in upstate Néw York. He read Tom Friedman’s column in the Néw York Times on Sunday and had a strong reaction of cognitive dissonance, as in, why can’t Tom be consistent?
Tom Friedman’s describes a thrilling ride on a nuclear submarine, where there is no room for error. At one point, an admiral says, “There is no multiple-choice exam for running the sub’s nuclear reactor.” If you want to be certified to run any major system on this ship, he added, “everything is an oral and written exam to demonstrate competency.”
John hopes that Tom will remember that when he returns to land.
John writes:
So, Tom Friedman gets a free ride on the U.S.S. New Mexico under the Arctic ice, leading him to gush warmly in today’s Sunday Times. “My strongest impression… was experiencing something you see too little of these days on land: ‘excellence'”, he wrote.
What was so excellent? “‘There is no multiple-choice exam for running the sub’s reactor,'” according to an admiral Tom quotes with obvious admiration, noting that the commander added, “‘Everything is an oral and written exam to demonstrate competency.'”
Okay, Tom. So, mind-numbing, idiotic multiple-choice exams are okay on land, as long as you’re sitting high and dry in public school classrooms across our country. But somehow the laws of physics (not to mention basic common sense) function differently under water?
Is Tom Friedman a hypocrite or is he simply blind to the crappy, half-assed testing being inflicted on our students each day -thanks to the rush to implement the Core-porate curriculum?
Tom, here’s a REAL lesson for you about excellence. One of my former students has served bravely on an attack sub. He’s one of those smart, dedicated young sailors you admire. He stopped by my house not that long ago when he was home on leave. We were talking and, at one point, he dropped the phrase, “NUB”, as in, “That guy was a real nub”.
N.U.B. translates to “Non-useful body”, he told me. It refers to a person not pulling his or her weight on the sub. It’s a big insult, Tom. It’s the people who just use up good air.
You want to improve education? Start with getting the adult NUBs who are clogging our schools off our backs. Who am I talking about? Let’s start with the overpaid consultants who never really teach, useless state bureaucrats spewing their political doublespeak, corporate greed heads peddling nonsensical tests and those hedge fund managers who would last about ten minutes running a real classroom.
Next thing you know Tom Friedman and his cronies at the Times will be supporting efforts to put charter school students on nuclear submarines.
On the sub, “The sense of ownership and mutual accountability is palpable,” according to Tom.
Wouldn’t it be nice if he had the same goals for our children and their teachers back here in the United States.
-John Ogozalek
Jeff Nichols appeals to State Commissioner King and Chancellor Farina to call off the math tests.
He writes:
Dear Commissioner King and Chancellor Fariña,
Events are moving very fast. You are no doubt aware that today the principal, staff and parents of one of the most highly regarded schools In New York City, PS 321 in Brooklyn, will be holding a protest outside their schools to decry the abysmal quality of this year’s ELA tests. You have probably read the astonishing comments from teachers and principals that continue to pour into the the New York City Public School Parents blog and other sites (http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2014/04/liz-phillips-brooklyn-principal-i-have.html).
I have not yet heard your view of this situation, Chancellor Fariña. But as an opt out parent, I have to tell you frankly I was offended by your remarks earlier this week to the effect that while parents’ opinions should be respected, children should come to school prepared to meet challenges like the state tests.
Have you not realized that parents are protesting the tests precisely because we want our kids challenged deeply by real learning in our schools and these tests are obstructing that goal? Have you not realized that NYSED’s and Pearson’s claims that these tests represent new levels of “rigor” and “critical thinking” are demonstrably false?
There was no rigor applied to the development of these tests, nor does the practice of high-stakes testing in general stand up to critical analysis, so I fail to see how taking the state tests represents a worthwhile challenge for any child.
Moreover, Commissioner King, I cannot accept the state’s intention to keep the tests secret from parents. My wife and I are responsible for all aspects of our children’s upbringing. We would not permit a doctor to administer a vaccine to our children and forbid us from knowing what is in the shot. We will not let you subject our children to any exercise in school while forbidding us to know its contents, much less tests that are being used to determine their promotion and whether or not their teachers will be fired.
The forced, secret high-stakes testing of minor children is going to go the way of cane switches, dunce caps and forcing left-handed children to write with their right hands — practices that were once commonplace that we now regard as child abuse. It’s only a matter of time.
The question is, will our local and state education leaders join together and stop this travesty? Given the fact that the NYSED and the Pearson corporation have again utterly failed the test of earning parents’ and educators’ confidence in the quality of these exams, why should our schools proceed with administering the math tests later this month? Can you give me any reason other than obedience for obedience’s sake? All I hear from you, Commissioner King, is slogans about higher standards and career readiness. I have yet to witness direct engagement by you with the arguments made by the thousands of educators and parents in our state who are advocate abandoning high-stakes testing of young children once and for all.
I call on you, Commissioner King, to suspend the administration of this year’s state tests, and if you fail to do that (as I expect you will) I call on you, Chancellor Fariña to refuse to administer them.
We have lemon laws protecting consumers from egregiously faulty consumer products, but we no one is protecting our children from these worthless exams. Chancellor Fariña, they are state tests, so you can blame Commissioner King and the legislature for them, but you are ultimately responsible for our city’s schools. You must ensure that no one forces educational malpractice upon them. If NYSED continues to ignore the protests against the state tests that are exploding across the state, and you allow the math exams exams to go forward, the public will hold the DOE accountable as well as NYSED and the U.S. Department of Education.
We now have teachers in this city and beyond refusing to administer the state tests and parents refusing to allow their children to take them. Chancellor Fariña, will you stand with these disobedient citizens, or will you stand with Arne Duncan and John King and insist that the tests must go forward regardless of their quality, because an unjust law says they must?
I hope both of you will acknowledge that finally, enough is enough. Suspend the state tests and bring daylight onto the whole process that led to this debacle.
Sincerely,
Jeff Nichols
—
Jeff Nichols
Associate Professor
Queens College and The Graduate Center, CUNY
On the website Testtalk.org, there are many interesting comments about the three days of testing English Language Arts. Why does it require so many hours to find out how well children read? No one knows, or if they know, they aren’t saying.
Here is a thoughtful reflection by a third-grade teacher:
“I have been wondering for years now what these tests are really accomplishing, and this year I am more dismayed than ever. I firmly believe that they are not even measuring what they claim to be assessing.
“You cannot measure reading comprehension when the student has to spend all of his or her energy decoding the text. You cannot measure writing ability when the topic of their writing is dependent upon understanding of a text that was above their reading level. You cannot test math skills when the students have to spend so much time just figuring out what the task even requires of them.
“You cannot really measure ANYTHING when students are too fatigued to function (which most third graders are after about 30 minutes of one activity, let alone 60 or more). And most importantly, you cannot measure progress when where the students STARTED is never taken into account.
“As a special educator, this last one is most troubling to me. Year after year, I have to answer for why my students are not progressing, when in reality, they are making TREMENDOUS strides in their abilities to function in school and perform basic life skills and academic tasks. Sadly, these will never come to light if both the baseline assessment AND the culminating assessment are so far out of their reach it is like putting a foreign language in front of them.
“I know we want to be the best and brightest country in the world, but the fact remains that humans do not learn new things overnight. Everyone learns differently, learns at their own pace, and has different ways of showing what they have learned.
“One of the first things I learned in my teacher certification program (one of the best and most respected in my state), was that NO ONE should be judged by tests and tests alone, but that day to day observation data, work samples, and multi-faceted projects were far more valuable.
“Now, teachers are being told by those who never went through such programs, that what they learned doesn’t matter, schools need to run like businesses, and students need to be programmed like machines (and if they cannot be, it is the teacher’s fault – NOTHING else is considered). What are we doing? What are we teaching our children? What are we preparing them for? WHAT ARE WE TESTING????”
Coincidence?
Just as state testing begins in state after state, the website of United Zopt Out was hacked, with the intention of destroying it.
That is the go-to site for parents seeking information about state laws and their rights.
Contact Peg Robertson to see when it will be up again.
writepeg@juno.com
What happens when parents say “No, not with my child”? They protect their child against state-sanctioned harm.
PRESS RELEASE
EMBARGOED UNTIL 9:15 AM APRIL 1, 2014
BROOKLYN, NY
Contact 1: Elizabeth Elsass, 917-605-3640, rinelsass1@gmail.com
Contact 2: Dani Liebling, 347-218-3107, daniliebling@yahoo.com
GROUNDSWELL OF BROOKLYN PARENTS FROM BROWNSVILLE TO CARROLL GARDENS REFUSE STATE TESTS
A grassroots opt-out campaign organized by Brooklyn parents has yielded a record number of test refusals for this year’s 3rd – 8th grade state-mandated math and English exams. The campaign is part of a national movement in which parents are rejecting high-stakes standardized tests as harmful to their children, teachers, and schools and as detrimental to creativity and deep learning. In a first for the borough, at least three public schools will have more students sitting out the exams than taking them.
Families of children in the testing grades at PS 446/Riverdale Avenue Community School (District 23, Brownsville), the Academy of Arts & Letters (District 13, Fort Greene), and PS 146/Brooklyn New School (District 15, Carroll Gardens) deluged their principals with “opt out” letters. Each school had a refusal rate of over 70 percent; at Arts & Letters the 3rd grade refusals topped out at 83%.
Administrators expect to continue to receive refusals, but as of March 31, the day before the start of the annual testing season, 225 of the 306 students in grades 3-5 at Brooklyn New School had submitted letters. (Last year, 4 families at the school opted out.) Parents of 48 of 60 children refused the tests at PS 446. At Arts & Letters, where the refusal effort focused on the 3rd grade, 44 of 53 3rd graders will not be taking the tests.
“The high stakes attached to these tests must go,” says PS 146 parent Elizabeth Elsass. “We refuse to take part in a test-score-driven education system that is hurting all children.” William Fletcher, whose son attends 3rd grade at PS 446, adds, “In third grade, children need music, art, and gym. But these get crowded out by the tests.”
The groundswell of parent protest is fueled by deep concerns over the length, cost, and content of the tests; their inappropriate use as the primary, and sometimes sole, evaluator of children, teachers, and schools; and their damaging effect on the direction in which public education is headed. Many parents stress that they are not against testing in general. Betsy Guttmacher, who is opting out her eighth-grade daughter at Arts & Letters, explains, “Parents want authentic, meaningful assessments of our children’s learning, and of their teachers’ effectiveness—not punitive, poorly designed, high-stakes testing.”
Parents who refuse the tests are outraged by:
• The length and content of the exams: Children as young as 8 are expected to sit for 6 days of 70-minute test sessions. 5th graders will spend 90 minutes a day taking the tests, longer than college graduates spend on the GRE, MCAT, or LSAT. School staff who saw last year’s exams report that questions were “tricky” and that some questions had no clear right answer. They did not see a chance for children to demonstrate deep thinking, even though the Common Core-aligned tests claim to measure exactly that. Only 5% of English Language Learners passed the state tests last year.
• Promotion decisions determined by one test score. (Recent state legislation may render this exact point moot, but parents remain uneasy since they do not know the extent to which this single score will figure in promotion and admissions decisions.)
• Teacher evaluations based on children’s test scores.
• The high stakes of the tests which force teachers to teach to the test and abandon rich, creative curriculum.
• The high costs of testing. For-profit testing companies receive millions while schools struggle to work with reduced budgets each year. This results in larger class sizes and reduced staff.
• The requirement that schools pay for the scoring of the tests out of their own budgets and/or send teachers out of the classroom for several grading days. (Doubly outrageous at schools where so few children are actually taking the test!)
• The collection and sharing, without parental consent, of children’s personal data (for the cloud-based inBloom database).
Parents who are refusing the tests reflect the diversity of Brooklyn’s opt-out movement, cutting across class and color lines. Many of them have been educating and organizing their fellow parents for months—attending meetings, producing literature, and researching opt-out related questions. For example, when 4th grade parents at Brooklyn New School wondered whether opting out would affect their children’s middle school applications, parent organizers surveyed 19 middle schools. Their findings: there is no ironclad connection between test scores and middle school admissions in the consulted schools. (These were mostly District 15 and citywide middle schools.) The results of this parent survey are available to the press.
The conviction of the parent activists is infectious. Mother of 3, Johanna Perez, relates, “Learning about the tests has been eye-opening. I shared what’s going on at our school with my sister, whose kids go to school in the Bronx; now we’re both opting our children out.” Says parent Marvin Piqué, “We need a system that works for all children. The obsession with testing is hurting the children it is designed to help the most. Stop this and fix it.”
PRESS ALERT
Contact 1: Elizabeth Elsass, 917-605-3640, rinelsass1@gmail.com Contact 2: Dani Liebling, 347-218-3107,daniliebling@yahoo.com
GROUNDSWELL OF BROOKLYN PARENTS FROM BROWNSVILLE TO CARROLL GARDENS REFUSE STATE TESTS
WHAT:
To mark the first day of State-mandated standardized tests, Brooklyn parents from schools with unprecedented rates of test refusal will hold a playground press conference to announce how and why they have embarked on a civil disobedience campaign.
WHEN:
Tuesday,, April 1st at 9:15 AM
WHERE:
DiMattina Playground (between Rapelye and Woodhull Streets & Henry and Hicks Streets), adjacent to the Brooklyn New School in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn
WHO:
Parents from a diverse group of Brooklyn public schools including host schools PS 446/Riverdale Ave Community School (Brownsville), Arts & Letters (Fort Greene), and PS 146/Brooklyn New School (Carroll Gardens); elected officials or their representatives. (Confirmed: Brad Lander,
City Council Member; Daniel Wiley, Community Coordinator for Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez; Representative from Community Education Council 15. List in formation.)
WHY:
Brooklyn parents organized a grassroots opt-out campaign that yielded a record number of test refusals for this year’s 3rd – 8thgrade state math and English exams. In a first for the borough, more students at the host schools will sit out the tests than will take them.* The campaign is part of a national movement in which parents are rejecting high-stakes tests as harmful to their children, teachers, and schools and as detrimental to creativity and deep learning.
Jeffrey Weiss, a reporter at the Dallas Morning News, asked me why the Network for Public Education decided to hold its first national meeting in Austin, Texas.
I remembered something that Robert Scott, a recent state commissioner of education in Texas, said about high-stakes testing. He said it was “the heart of the vampire,” the heart of a new military-industrial complex.
He put it this way:
“The assessment and accountability regime has become not only a cottage industry but a military-industrial complex. And the reason that you’re seeing this move toward the “common core” is there’s a big business sentiment out there that if you’re going to spend $600-$700 billion a year in public education, why shouldn’t be one big Boeing, or Lockheed-Grumman contract where one company can get it all and provide all these services to schools across the country.”
So I told Jeff that NPE was meeting in Austin to drive a stake through the heart of the vampire in the place it was created. That gives a new meaning to the term “high-stakes testing.”
As the Opt Out movement spreads across the nation, as parents realize that testing has become more important than instruction, as awareness grows that the testing industry has taken control of education, as parents understand that the online Comon Core tests are being used for data mining, the vampire will die.
Join the Network for Public Education and help us spread the word and take action to restore real education to our schools.
PRESS ALERT
Contact 1: Elizabeth Elsass, 917-605-3640, rinelsass1@gmail.com
Contact 2: Dani Liebling, 347-218-3107, daniliebling@yahoo.com
GROUNDSWELL OF BROOKLYN PARENTS FROM BROWNSVILLE TO CARROLL GARDENS REFUSE STATE TESTS
WHAT:
To mark the first day of State-mandated standardized tests, Brooklyn parents from schools with unprecedented rates of test refusal will hold a playground press conference to announce how and why they have embarked on a civil disobedience campaign.
WHEN:
Tuesday, April 1st at 9:15 AM
WHERE:
Dimattina Playground, adjacent to the Brooklyn New School
(between Rapelye and Woodhull Street, Henry and Hicks Street)
WHO:
Parents from a diverse group of Brooklyn public schools including host schools PS 446/Riverdale Ave Community School (Brownsville), Arts & Letters (Fort Greene), and PS 146/Brooklyn New School (Carroll Gardens); elected officials or their representatives. (Confirmed: Brad Lander, Daniel Wiley, Community Coordinator for Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, Community Education Council 15 Member. List in formation.)
WHY:
Brooklyn parents organized a grassroots opt-out campaign that yielded a record number of test refusals for this year’s 3rd-8th grade state math and English exams. In a first for the borough, more students at the host schools will sit out the tests than will take them.* The campaign is part of a national movement in which parents are rejecting high-stakes tests as harmful to their children, teachers, and schools and as detrimental to creativity and deep learning.
VISUALS:
Parents holding signs and examples of student work.
*Exact number available at the press conference
Say no to high-stakes testing!
Say no to data mining of your children ,
Say no to corporate reform!
Say no to those who want to monetize our children!
Here is a report from Bob Schaeffer of Fairtest:
Anyone who still believes that the resistance to testing misuse and overuse is confined to a few big cities and “liberal” activists, should click through this week’s news clips. In fact, testing protests are spreading across “deep red” states” such as Alaska, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. And “conservative” commentators are speaking out against standardized exam overkill.
A Strong Right-Wing Voice Joins the Chorus: Revolt Against the Tyranny of Standardized Testing
http://washingtonexaminer.com/revolt-against-the-tyrants-of-standardized-testing/article/2545914?custom_click=rss
Countering Fears About Opting Out
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/claire-wapole/the-fear-of-opting-out-isat_b_4993818.html
New School Tests Don’t Make the Grade
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/3/25/new-school-testsdontmakethegrade.html
Alaska Legislature Advances Bill Repealing Exit Exam, Awarding Retroactive Diplomas
http://peninsulaclarion.com/news/2014-03-20-0
Chicago Parents Irate About School Officials Questioning Children About Test Boycott
http://www.suntimes.com/news/26334435-418/parents-livid-over-cps-investigators-questioning-kids-over-isat-boycott.html
Opt-Out Movement Gains Momentum in Colorado
http://www.coloradoindependent.com/146615/opting-out
Testing Violations Continue at D.C. Schools: Michelle Rhee’s Legacy
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/review-finds-four-serious-test-taking-violations-in-dc-schools/2014/03/19/8c6cdc84-af75-11e3-a49e-76adc9210f19_story.html
Delaware Teachers Push Back Against Test-Driven “Reform”
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/education/2014/03/18/teacher-union-members-voice-discontent/6586595/
Feds Investigate Bias in Florida’s Test-Based Scholarships
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/college/feds-investigate-floridas-bright-futures-scholarship-program/2171469
Former Teacher of the Year Sends “Dear John” Letter & Video to State of Florida
http://www.teachingquality.org/content/dear-john-letter-state-florida
Maryland Teacher: Time to Hold “Reformers” Accountable of Policy Failures
http://indypendent.org/2014/03/21/time-hold-education-reformers-accountable
Massachusetts State Ed. Official Admits Students Cannot Be Forced to Take Common Core Pilot Tests
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/article/20140320/NEWS/140329703
High-Stakes Testing Leads to Anxiety in Mississippi’s School Children
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20140323/LIFESTYLE/303230011/High-stakes-testing-leads-anxiety-students
New Jersey Supers: Common Core Test Delay Would Help Students, Schools
http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/03/delaying_new_standardized_testing_would_benefit_schools_students_opinion.html
New Mexico Parents Blast Standardized Exam Exam Overkill
http://www.taosnews.com/opinion/article_0730b95c-b04f-11e3-abce-001a4bcf887a.html
Number of New York Families Preparing to Opt Out Grows
http://www.ny1.com/content/news/205540/growing-number-of-parents-want-students-to-opt-out-of-high-stakes-state-tests
Parents Explain: “Why We Are Opting Out”
http://www.antonnews.com/farmingdaleobserver/opinion/36644-letter-why-we-are-opting-out.html
Brooklyn Parents Organize to Roll Back Standardized Testing for Young Children
http://www.greenpointnews.com/news/6023/north-brooklyn-parents-oppose-standardized-testing-for-young-students
Pennsylvania Parents Opt Children Out of State Exam
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20140324_Some_parents_having_their_children.html#mj2kOHL5sRq0A0VV.99
Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial: Take Emphasis Off State Tests
http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20140325_Inquirer_Editorial__Take_emphasis_off_state_tests.html
Tennessee Teachers File Second Suit Against “Value-Added” Evaluations
http://tn.chalkbeat.org/2014/03/21/tea-files-second-valued-added-lawsuit-this-week/
More Tennessee Parents Opt Children Out of Tests
http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2014/03/24/nashville-parents-opt-kids-testing/6850305/
Texas May Make Deeper Cuts in Number of Required Tests
http://www.woai.com/articles/woai-local-news-sponsored-by-five-star-cleaners-119078/standardized-tests-required-in-school-may-12172509
Utah Educators Criticize Time Wasted on Testing, Not Teaching
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/57707764-90/students-teachers-testing-state.html.csp
Time to End the Feds Annual Testing Mandate
http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/22672-direct-the-department-of-education-and-congress-to-remove-annual-standardized-testing-mandates-of-nclb-and-rttt
Days of High-Stakes Testing Are Numbered, According to National Conservative Publication
http://www.nationalreview.com/agenda/373954/days-high-stakes-tests-are-numbered-and-thats-good-thing-reihan-salam
Teacher Quits Because Job is Now About Tests and Data, Not Children
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/23/kindergarten-teacher-my-job-is-now-about-tests-and-data-not-children-i-quit/
Does High-Stakes Testing Help Students Living in Poverty?
http://www.forpubliced.blogspot.com/2014/03/is-high-stakes-testing-best-way-to.html
Is High-Stakes Testing Increasing the Rate of “Attention Deficit Disorder” Diagnoses?
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-health/could-school-testing-be-driving-adhd-n55661
What Students Think About Standardized Tests
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nicholas-ferroni/what-my-standardized-tests_b_4981580.html
“Listen” — A New Documentary About Education From a Student’s Perspective
http://vimeo.com/88905708
Finland’s Only High-Stakes Standardized Test
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/24/the-brainy-questions-on-finlands-only-high-stakes-standardized-test/
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
Say no to high-stakes testing!
Say no to data mining of your children ,
Say no to corporate reform!
Say no to those who want to monetize our children!
Here is a report from Bob Schaeffer of Fairtest:
Anyone who still believes that the resistance to testing misuse and overuse is confined to a few big cities and “liberal” activists, should click through this week’s news clips. In fact, testing protests are spreading across “deep red” states” such as Alaska, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. And “conservative” commentators are speaking out against standardized exam overkill.
A Strong Right-Wing Voice Joins the Chorus: Revolt Against the Tyranny of Standardized Testing
http://washingtonexaminer.com/revolt-against-the-tyrants-of-standardized-testing/article/2545914?custom_click=rss
Countering Fears About Opting Out
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/claire-wapole/the-fear-of-opting-out-isat_b_4993818.html
New School Tests Don’t Make the Grade
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/3/25/new-school-testsdontmakethegrade.html
Alaska Legislature Advances Bill Repealing Exit Exam, Awarding Retroactive Diplomas
http://peninsulaclarion.com/news/2014-03-20-0
Chicago Parents Irate About School Officials Questioning Children About Test Boycott
http://www.suntimes.com/news/26334435-418/parents-livid-over-cps-investigators-questioning-kids-over-isat-boycott.html
Opt-Out Movement Gains Momentum in Colorado
http://www.coloradoindependent.com/146615/opting-out
Testing Violations Continue at D.C. Schools: Michelle Rhee’s Legacy
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/review-finds-four-serious-test-taking-violations-in-dc-schools/2014/03/19/8c6cdc84-af75-11e3-a49e-76adc9210f19_story.html
Delaware Teachers Push Back Against Test-Driven “Reform”
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/education/2014/03/18/teacher-union-members-voice-discontent/6586595/
Feds Investigate Bias in Florida’s Test-Based Scholarships
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/college/feds-investigate-floridas-bright-futures-scholarship-program/2171469
Former Teacher of the Year Sends “Dear John” Letter & Video to State of Florida
http://www.teachingquality.org/content/dear-john-letter-state-florida
Maryland Teacher: Time to Hold “Reformers” Accountable of Policy Failures
http://indypendent.org/2014/03/21/time-hold-education-reformers-accountable
Massachusetts State Ed. Official Admits Students Cannot Be Forced to Take Common Core Pilot Tests
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/article/20140320/NEWS/140329703
High-Stakes Testing Leads to Anxiety in Mississippi’s School Children
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20140323/LIFESTYLE/303230011/High-stakes-testing-leads-anxiety-students
New Jersey Supers: Common Core Test Delay Would Help Students, Schools
http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/03/delaying_new_standardized_testing_would_benefit_schools_students_opinion.html
New Mexico Parents Blast Standardized Exam Exam Overkill
http://www.taosnews.com/opinion/article_0730b95c-b04f-11e3-abce-001a4bcf887a.html
Number of New York Families Preparing to Opt Out Grows
http://www.ny1.com/content/news/205540/growing-number-of-parents-want-students-to-opt-out-of-high-stakes-state-tests
Parents Explain: “Why We Are Opting Out”
http://www.antonnews.com/farmingdaleobserver/opinion/36644-letter-why-we-are-opting-out.html
Brooklyn Parents Organize to Roll Back Standardized Testing for Young Children
http://www.greenpointnews.com/news/6023/north-brooklyn-parents-oppose-standardized-testing-for-young-students
Pennsylvania Parents Opt Children Out of State Exam
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20140324_Some_parents_having_their_children.html#mj2kOHL5sRq0A0VV.99
Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial: Take Emphasis Off State Tests
http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20140325_Inquirer_Editorial__Take_emphasis_off_state_tests.html
Tennessee Teachers File Second Suit Against “Value-Added” Evaluations
http://tn.chalkbeat.org/2014/03/21/tea-files-second-valued-added-lawsuit-this-week/
More Tennessee Parents Opt Children Out of Tests
http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2014/03/24/nashville-parents-opt-kids-testing/6850305/
Texas May Make Deeper Cuts in Number of Required Tests
http://www.woai.com/articles/woai-local-news-sponsored-by-five-star-cleaners-119078/standardized-tests-required-in-school-may-12172509
Utah Educators Criticize Time Wasted on Testing, Not Teaching
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/57707764-90/students-teachers-testing-state.html.csp
Time to End the Feds Annual Testing Mandate
http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/22672-direct-the-department-of-education-and-congress-to-remove-annual-standardized-testing-mandates-of-nclb-and-rttt
Days of High-Stakes Testing Are Numbered, According to National Conservative Publication
http://www.nationalreview.com/agenda/373954/days-high-stakes-tests-are-numbered-and-thats-good-thing-reihan-salam
Teacher Quits Because Job is Now About Tests and Data, Not Children
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/23/kindergarten-teacher-my-job-is-now-about-tests-and-data-not-children-i-quit/
Does High-Stakes Testing Help Students Living in Poverty?
http://www.forpubliced.blogspot.com/2014/03/is-high-stakes-testing-best-way-to.html
Is High-Stakes Testing Increasing the Rate of “Attention Deficit Disorder” Diagnoses?
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-health/could-school-testing-be-driving-adhd-n55661
What Students Think About Standardized Tests
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nicholas-ferroni/what-my-standardized-tests_b_4981580.html
“Listen” — A New Documentary About Education From a Student’s Perspective
http://vimeo.com/88905708
Finland’s Only High-Stakes Standardized Test
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/24/the-brainy-questions-on-finlands-only-high-stakes-standardized-test/
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
