Latest from Bob Schaeffer at Fair Test on Resistance to Corporate Testing Mania

The assessment reform movement gains momentum across the U.S. and even beyond national borders, as parents, students, teachers, administrators, and school board members say “Enough is enough” to standardized exam misuse and overuse. Now is the time to ratchet up pressure on members of Congress and state legislatures to roll back test-and-punish mandates!

Less Testing: More Teaching — Contact U.S. Senators April 8 National Day of Action for “No Child Left Behind” Overhaul
http://fairtest.org/national-day-action-april-8

Fact vs Threat: Schools Unlikely to Lose Federal Funds Due to High Opt Out Numbers
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/04/02/will-schools-lose-federal-funds-if-kids-dont-take-mandated-tests-fact-vs-threat/

Atlanta School Test Cheating: Lessons Policy Makers Ignore
http://dianeravitch.net/2015/04/06/bob-schaeffer-of-fairtest-on-atlanta-cheating-scandal/

Are Exit Exams Necessary?: More States Say “No”
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/04/03/are-high-school-exit-exams-necessary-more-states-are-saying-no/ 

Join the Obamas to Opt Out of High-Stakes Testing
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-singer/join-the-obamas-and-optou_b_7009588.html

California Testing Companies Fight for Assessment Contract
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article17481269.html

Colorado Districts Report High Opt-Out Levels
http://www.reporterherald.com/ci_27829826/16-percent-opt-out-parcc
Colorado Students Use Test Opt-Out Time for Education
http://co.chalkbeat.org/2015/04/03/readers-how-our-students-spent-their-opt-out-time/#.VR7WI5NLUZw

Delaware Parents Protest Standardized Exams; Support Opt-Out Bill
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/education/2015/04/01/parent-group-protests-standardized-testing/70805516/

District of Columbia Test Cheating: How Did it Differ from Atlanta
https://gfbrandenburg.wordpress.com/2015/04/05/what-exactly-were-the-differences-between-cheating-in-atlanta-under-beverly-hall-and-the-cheating-in-dc-under-michelle-rhee/

Florida Senate Passes Bill Curbing State Testing Amid GOP Anger
http://www.wptv.com/news/state/florida-senate-passes-testing-bill-amid-gop-anger
High Time for a Testing Timeout
http://staugustine.com/opinions/2015-04-04/editorial-high-time-testing-timeout#.VSBc5kZLUZw

Georgia: Atlanta Cheating Verdict Reveals Education “Reform” Failure
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/apr/01/atlanta-cheating-scandal-education-reform
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2015/0402/Atlanta-teacher-convictions-Do-standardized-testing-pressures-foster-cheating-video

Indiana Students Organize Screening of Anti-Testing Film
http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/students-organize-screening-of-anti-testing-film/article_dda5a78d-6a78-572f-88d8-0d306f833f74.html

Louisiana: Debunking the Post-Katrina “Miracle”
http://www.alternet.org/education/debunking-new-orleans-miracle

Maryland Parent Explains Why So Many Families Are Opting Out of Testing
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bs-ed-parcc-letter-20150403-story.html

Massachusetts: Tell the Schools, “No PARCC For My Kids”
http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/letters/ci_27826889/tell-schools-no-parcc-my-kids#ixzz3W4L0Gv7G
Massachusetts Students Explain Test Flaws
http://wgbhnews.org/post/and-you-thought-mcas-was-controvertial-get-ready-parcc

Minnesota Governor Continues Effort to Reduce Testing After Rejection by Feds
http://www.inforum.com/news/education/3714072-dayton-seeks-options-reducing-testing

Mississippi Common Core Testing A Battleground Issue
http://www.sunherald.com/2015/04/04/6159459/qa-common-core-student-testing.html

New Hampshire Districts Develop Performance Assessment Systems
http://nhpr.org/post/districts-experimenting-new-tests-writing-questions-only-half-task

New Jersey PARCC Test Refusals Top 50,000
http://www.app.com/story/news/education/in-our-schools/2015/03/31/parcc-refusals-top/70720628/
Nearly 40% of Montclair Students Opted Out from PARCC Test
http://dianeravitch.net/2015/04/01/39-of-students-in-montclair-new-jersey-opt-out-of-parcc-tests/

New York Districts Forced to Drop “Sit and Stare” for Students Who Opt Out
http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/amherst/amherst-drops-sit-and-stare-policy-for-students-who-opt-out-of-testing-20150331
Thousands of New York City Families Will Boycott Math, Reading Exams
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/nyc-familes-boycott-state-math-reading-exams-activists-article-1.2174033

North Carolina School Grading System Should Be Erased
http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/editorials/article17248595.html
North Carolina Teachers Tell Board There’s Too Much Testing
http://www.heraldsun.com/news/x626360898/DPS-teachers-believe-there-s-too-much-testing

Ohio Auditor Continues Probe Into Test Score Manipulation 
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/04/03/painstaking-probes-into-datascandal-still-rolling.html
Ohio First Year of PARCC Implementation No Picnic
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/04/06/experts-first-year-of-testing-no-picnic.html

Oregon Sees More Than a Thousand Opt Outs So Far
http://www.opb.org/news/article/hundreds-of-portland-area-students-opt-out-of-new-state-exams/
Oregon Letter Blasts Damage to Education From “No Child Left Behind” Testing Law
http://www.eastoregonian.com/eo/letters/20150401/letter-no-child-left-behind-had-negative-effects-on-us-students

Pennsylvania High-Stakes Testing Has Many Problems
http://www.dailyitem.com/opinion/my-turn-problems-with-high-stakes-standardized-testing/article_d8ea31a2-d7e6-11e4-8412-fbe7a22385bd.html
Less Testing, More Teaching: A Great Move for Pennsylvania Schools
http://lancasteronline.com/opinion/editorials/more-teaching-less-testing-a-good-move-for-pa-schools/article_cd3550be-d4bf-11e4-9ab5-7745642245a9.html

Rhode Island Students and Teachers Find Faults With PARCC Test
http://www.warwickonline.com/stories/Students-teachers-find-fault-with-PARCC-test,101207

Texas Anti-Testing Push Continues at State, Local Levels
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Anti-testing-push-continues-at-state-and-local-6182214.php
Texas Families Start STAAR Opt-Out Movement
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/gray-matters/article/Opting-out-Houston-parents-say-no-to-6171277.php

Washington State Tests Useless for Measuring Teacher Effectiveness
http://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/test-are-useless-for-measuring-teacher-effectiveness/
Washington Parents Protest Use of Non-Validated Smarter Balanced Exams
https://seattleducation2010.wordpress.com/2015/04/02/pearson-is-exploiting-our-children-by-using-them-to-verify-the-validity-of-the-sbac/

Canada Testing the Idea of Scrapping High-Stress Exams
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/health/Testing+idea+scrapping+high+stress+exams/10945661/story.html

United Kingdom Teachers Endorse Boycott of New Test of Four-Year Olds
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-3025151/NUT-debate-tests-4-year-olds.html

“Hocus Pocus” and the History of High-Stakes Testing in the U.S.
http://www.livingindialogue.com/hocus-pocus-and-the-history-of-high-stakes-tests/

The Lost Purpose of School Reform
http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2015/apr/02/lost-purpose-no-child-left-behind/

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

__._,_.___

---

Posted by: Bob Schaeffer <bobschaeffer@earthlink.net> 

---

Reply via web post

•

Reply to sender

•

Reply to group

•

Start a New Topic

•

Messages in this topic(1)

<*> To change settings online go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EDDRA2/join
    (Yahoo! ID required) 

VISIT YOUR GROUP

• Privacy • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use

.

 

__,_._,___