Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: IN THE MAILBOX

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: IN THE MAILBOX:

IN THE MAILBOX

by Mike Klonsky

Dear Mike,

I’m here at the AFT convention in Detroit, and I wanted to share some exciting news. 

Yesterday, delegates to the convention unanimously approved the resolution against high-stakes standardized testing. 

It was a moving discussion on the floor of the convention. Teacher after teacher stood up with stories about how the fixation on high-stakes testing hurts their students and their ability to provide high-quality instruction. Now that the resolution has passed, we will be able to push back against a one-size-fits-all approach to education. 

With organizations like Stand for Children and lobbying groups like Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst pushing their