AFT Delegates Take Stand on Standardized Testing
Detroit
Delegates to the American Federation of Teachers approved a resolution on standardized testing that, among other things, calls for a "proper balance" in the use of assessments and says that tests should be used to provide information to "help students, teachers, and schools improve, not sanction and undermine them."
"We have really struggled with the testing scheme, No Child Left Behind, and our response to it. This is the most powerful statement of our beliefs that I've seen," said Dan Montgomery, the president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, who spoke in favor of the resolution. "The testing and accountability scheme is used as a cudgel to destroy teachers and parents. We need to rise up against that."
That this resolution passed, let me state plainly, is not a big surprise. The AFT has been promoting it for a while, and has even started a petition on testing that members of the public can sign.
The resolution isn't quite as detailed as the National Education Association's 16-point screed against testing
Delegates to the American Federation of Teachers approved a resolution on standardized testing that, among other things, calls for a "proper balance" in the use of assessments and says that tests should be used to provide information to "help students, teachers, and schools improve, not sanction and undermine them."
"We have really struggled with the testing scheme, No Child Left Behind, and our response to it. This is the most powerful statement of our beliefs that I've seen," said Dan Montgomery, the president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, who spoke in favor of the resolution. "The testing and accountability scheme is used as a cudgel to destroy teachers and parents. We need to rise up against that."
That this resolution passed, let me state plainly, is not a big surprise. The AFT has been promoting it for a while, and has even started a petition on testing that members of the public can sign.
The resolution isn't quite as detailed as the National Education Association's 16-point screed against testing