Weekly Round-Up of Ed-related News from FairTest

Here is yet another list of news items about resistance to the Global Educational Deformation Movement, from Bob Schaeffer of FairTest.

NC State Super: Testing Craze Wastes Taxpayer Dollars
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/12/21/3739031/morrison-177-state-tests-waste.html#storylink=cpy

Top-Down Testing Programs Send Wrong Message to Students and Teachers
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/overabundance-tests-schools-sends-wrong-message-article-1.1224846

Pressure Builds for Texas Test System Overhaul
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Texas-lawmakers-eye-falling-STAAR-4142444.php

The Gap Between Education Research and Testing Policy
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jack-jennings/mind-the-gap_2_b_2324262.html
FairTest Fact Sheet: Why Teacher Evaluation Shouldn’t Rest on Student Test Scores
http://fairtest.org/sites/default/files/Teacher-Evaluation-FactSheet-10-12.pdf

Hearts and Souls of American Teachers  — A School Board Leader Speaks Out
http://www.chronicleonline.com/content/hearts-and-souls-american-teachers#.UNcwqJGY-sk.mailto

4,000 Rhode Island Teachers Sign Petition Against New Evaluation System
http://news.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/2012/12/evaluation-system-puts-ri-teachers-on-edge.html

South Carolina Teachers Criticize Test-Based Grading Plan
http://www.thestate.com/2012/12/26/2568261/sc-plan-to-grade-teachers-stirs.html#.UNxPCGeDmSp

Bob Schaeffer, Public Education Director
FairTest: National Center for Fair & Open Testing
ph-   (239) 395-6773    fax-  (239) 395-6779
cell-  (239) 699-0468
web- http://www.fairtest.org

Schaeffer also makes a pitch for donations:

If you find these news summaries helpful, please consider making a year-end gift to FairTest so we can continue this important work.  All donations are completely tax-deductible.

To contribute, simply click on http://tinyurl.com/SupportFairTest or mail your check to FairTest, P.O. Box 300204, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

A Roundup of Articles on Real Education Reform

   - this is by Bob Schaeffer of Fair Test

With the 2012 election now history, we can return to the hard work of making politicians see the light about the need for real assessment reform.

FairTest offers several new columns and fact sheets as resources for that ongoing campaign along with links to a number of good pieces by our allies

Why So Many People Are Saying “Enough is Enough” to High-Stakes Testing
 http://www.takepart.com/article/2012/10/31/why-so-many-people-say-enough-enough-high-stakes-testing

Better Alternatives to Standardized Testing
 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2012/11/02/an-alternative-to-standardized-testing-for-student-assessment/

A Better Way to Evaluate Teachers
 http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-darling-teacher-evaluations-20121105,0,650639.story

High-Stakes Testing Promoter Booted as Indiana Super; Replaced by Teacher
  http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20121107/ELECTION01/311079919/1002/LOCAL

An Open Letter to President Obama
  http://www.good.is/posts/an-open-letter-to-president-obama-from-bill-ayers/

Another Educator Calls on Obama to Change Course
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2012/11/07/a-call-for-president-obama-to-change-course-on-education/

Parents Complain About Too Much Testing to Oklahoma Super, Who Agrees
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20121108_19_A15_CUTLIN194727

Common Core Tests = More Taxpayer $$$  — this is a national issue (see FairTest fact sheet at: http://fairtest.org/common-core-assessments-more-tests-not-much-better)
  http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/local-education/school-district-needs-to-spend-12-million-on-compu/nSsxw/

Closing the Achievement Gap: Have We Flat-Lined?  — more evidence that test-driven schooling is a failure
http://eyeoned.org/content/closing-the-achievement-gap-have-we-flat-lined_379/

Is Test-Mania Killing Interest in Science Teaching?
  http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2012/11/is_test_mania_killing_interest.html

Philadelphia Suspends Faulty School Rating System — hard data got in the way of another faith-based evaluation system
  http://thenotebook.org/blog/125293/philly-district-suspends-school-rating-system-seeks-fix

Pearson Pays Out $623K for Test-Scoring Error That Blocked Graduation
  http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20121025/NEWS01/310240052/Pearson-North-America-scoring-error-prevented-5-Mississippi-students-from-graduating-affected-121-others

Bob Schaeffer, Public Education Director
FairTest: National Center for Fair & Open Testing
ph-   (239) 395-6773    fax-  (239) 395-6779
cell-  (239) 699-0468

Recent Articles Against Race to the Trough and other Deformations of US Public Education

Bob Schaeffer of FairTest has been compiling weekly lists of good articles that give a view from ordinary schools and households on what it’s been like under NCLB and its successor, RTTT. Here’s Schaeffer’s latest list.   — gfb

=====================================================

Assessment reform pressure continued to escalate even as Hurricane Sandy slammed ashore.  Best wishes to our friends and allies in the mid-Atlantic states as they recover from the storm.

Arne Duncan’s Legacy: Doubling Down on High Stakes Testing Failures
http://education.nationaljournal.com/2012/10/what-has-arne-done-for-us.php#2258005

Texas Tests Breed Schools for Scandal
http://www.texastribune.org/texas-education/public-education/guest-column-tests-breed-schools-scandal/

Testing in Kindergarten — Whatever Happened to Story Time?
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/testing-consumes-kindergarten-class-time-in-chicago/Content?oid=7740293

Hudson Valley Parents Rip Excess Testing
http://newyork.newsday.com/westchester/westchester-now-1.3784383/hudson-valley-parents-rip-excess-school-testing-1.4152170

Data Missing for School Improvement Grant Claims
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2012/10/transparency_watch_obama_has_t.html

The MLK Imperative in an Era of “No Excuses”
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/27/1149535/-The-MLK-Imperative-in-an-Era-of-No-Excuses

Researchers Urge “Caution” in Use of Value-Added Scores
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/10/25/10valueadd.h32.html

Measuring the Worth of a Teacher
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-teacher-evals-20121029,0,592261,full.story

The Naked Emporer: What Test Scores Don’t Tell Us
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/young-minds/201210/what-test-scores-dont-tell-us-the-naked-emperor

Superintendent Dissects Race to the Trough’s Flaws
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2012/10/31/school-superintendent-to-thomas-friedman-why-you-are-wrong-about-race-to-the-top/

Bob Schaeffer, Public Education Director
FairTest: National Center for Fair & Open Testing
ph-   (239) 395-6773    fax-  (239) 395-6779
cell-  (239) 699-0468
web- http://www.fairtest.org

This Week’s Articles on Damage Done By Educational DEformers

I am reposting this entire email from Bob Schaeffer. People should read these:

==========================

From : Bob Schaeffer

Another incredibly visible week for assessment reformers.  Lots of media coverage documenting the damage from high-stakes testing as well as better alternatives.  Here are some of the best editorials, stories, columns and blogs.

Putting the SAT in Its Place
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-sat-college-20120926,0,2884825.story

Outdated SAT Needs to be Retired
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/outdated-sat-needs-to-be-retired/2012/09/26/0d0f60da-07a9-11e2-afff-d6c7f20a83bf_story.html

California Reduces Role of Student Test Scores in School Ratings
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-brown-bills-20120927,0,6744403.story

Graduation Test Requirements: Inequitable, Punitive or Just Plain Dumb
http://www.golocalprov.com/news/graduation-requirements-inequitable-punitive-or-just-plain-dumb/

More Cheating Scandals Inevitable: National Education Policy Built on Test Scores is Undermined
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/more-cheating-scandals-inevitable-as-states-cant-e/nSPqj/

Outside of School Factors Dominate Test-Score Differences
http://www.mlive.com/education/index.ssf/2012/09/study_outside_of_school_factor.html

New Teacher Evaluations Start to Hurt Students
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/new-teacher-evaluations-start-to-hurt-students/2012/09/29/f6d1b038-0aa6-11e2-afff-d6c7f20a83bf_blog.html

Teacher of the Year Criticizes Focus on Test Scores
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/education/july-dec12/2012teacher_09-26.html

New Book — One Size Does Not Fit All: A Student’s Assessment of Schools
http://www.antonnews.com/syossetjerichotribune/news/25229-nikhil-goyal-leading-a-learning-revolution.html

Do Parents Really Want More than 200 State-Mandated Assessments for Their Children
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/will-richardson/do-parents-really-want-ov_b_1913704.html

Staking Too Much on One Test
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/staking-test-article-1.1170754

Bob Schaeffer, Public Education Director
FairTest: National Center for Fair & Open Testing
ph-   (239) 395-6773    fax-  (239) 395-6779
cell-  (239) 699-0468
web- http://www.fairtest.org