The Anti-Testing Rebellion
Is sweeping the nation. In Texas 445 school districts have joined together in adopting a resolution calling on their state lawmakers to decrease the emphasis on high-stakes standardized testing. Robert Scott, the Texas Education Commissioner back in February saidthat the focus on high stakes testing has become a “perversion” of what policymakers had intended.Schools, parents and students are tiring of life in public schools being centered around tests – practice tests, pre-tests, revise tests, prep tests, and on and on and on.
Is there any education actually going on?
This isn’t just limited to Texas. Stephanie Banchero in the Wall Street Journal noted that more than 500 youth in Everett, WA skipped state exams in protest early last month. Parents of students in New York City Schoolsare getting involved. Parents in Florida are signing a petition against the use of FCAT, Florida’s standardized test. I noted in mid-May that if kids failed that particular test all the state of Florida was going to do was lower the standard. How about addressing the problem?
Michael Benjamin in the New York Post writes that the rebellion in